The Secret Army
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to the Hikari Brothers' Vacation. After a largely uneventful summer, Akihara City's new school year kicks off: but someone has had the bright idea of gathering a bunch of solo Net Navis to form an army which will strike into both real world and Cyber World with the intent of spreading fear and terror amongst the humans: but maybe they really aren't that though, even.
1. Prologue: Meeting

**The Secret Army**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Prologue: Meeting**

21:48 PM (Japan Time), Friday September the 29th, 2010…

"… Shah, shah, shah! Heh, heh, heh… Those guys should be about to come… The great me, Needle Man – sama, am a genius, really! It really was a good idea to ditch that useless gardener Operator after the Zero Virus incident!"

A Net Navi was standing inside of a spot somewhere within the Cyber World and muttering: he struck as being over a meter and seventy tall.

His upper body was shaped like a circle with a dome over it: the color of his choice was navy blue: the front part of the circle had a rectangular vertical cavity cut out with eight slightly curved metallic pieces set in a vertical row.

His face's skin had been painted in black coloring, too, and he had no nose: his eyes were colored yellow with red irises and a smug smile was drawn on his face: a small red vertical rectangle was set on the forehead.

Four needles came out of the dome part of the body (and having an orange circular edge circling the spot from where they sprouted out from) around the head which was drawn inside of a larger needle.

His arms were human-like given how they were attached to the body: orange-colored bands split it in two halves with the upper half being colored navy blue and the lower half tinted sky blue: a needle came out of each shoulder, too: four blackish long fingers were set at the ends of the arms.

The boots began over the knees and followed the same pattern as in the arms: a needle came out from the armor over each knee: they had a small hollow cavity cut close to the heel.

"… Are you the one who called for us?" A voice questioned.

"Hmpf! It better be worth our time, you punk!"A second hostile voice warned.

"Hmpf." A third voice scoffed.

"Uo~h… It sure has to be something worth our time…" One fourth voice guessed.

"The great I didn't come to waste his time!" A fifth grumbled.

"Shah, shah, shah! It's worth you guys' time… WWW Net Navis!" Needle Man grinned.

"Hmpf. Well then… I am Plant Man."

Plant Man struck as being as tall as Needle Man but maybe taller by one or two inches.

His face's skin was also tinted black: he had a small refined nose plus a mouth: his eyes didn't have irises and were colored green: a flower shape formed around his head and aimed backwards: its main color was a pale pink which then turned deeper in some spots near the far edge: two thorns came out from head where the ears would be at.

His head also had a red diamond set over the forehead and what was visible of the neck indicated that it was also colored black.

His upper body was tinted purple with two rows of seven pink-like dots forming a vertical pattern close to the inner edges of his main body: two orange-colored leaves shaped like a shirt's collar.

The space inside of the collar was colored lush green and that same color spread to the shoulders and until the wrists.

His shoulders had two white thorns each and his forearms had a bulb-like shape with four leaves spreading from the wrist in a cross-shaped formation: his hands' "skin" was black in color.

The outer edge of his main body was white in color but it began to gain tints of green and turning blacker in tonality until it reached the plain feet without any distinctive features.

Three circular pink-like circular bands marked the border between each layer of color until they reached the spot beneath the knees: the other segments had an uncolored band separating them.

Two spiraling vines with thorns forming out of them came out from behind his body and reached the ground: they began as lush green but turned pale green when they reached the end.

"Hah! I'm Beast Man!"

Beast Man struck as being slightly shorter in height: he was a "humanoid" model Navi yet he had a _beastly_ (like his name hinted) appearance.

His head was colored in the same color: a reddish slide-shaped piece sprouted from the top of it: his eyes' irises were red with black pupils: his jaw's color was brown and he had no nose: two fangs formed from inside of the nose openings: the drawing on his ear-pads was three parallel scars aiming SE and set against a black background: his orange-like hair came out from beneath the head and formed seven arched spikes which also extended downwards past the upper torso armor while forming six spikes: a reddish band surrounded the base of his neck.

His upper torso's armor was colored mud brown and had two fang-like drawings colored silver set over the sides of it.

His shoulders were orange spheroids with two red diamonds set over each one: his arms were missing the elbows and his forearms were larger than common: they were colored orange and the wrists ended in thick red circles having four small black rectangles drawn over it: three large claws and a shorter one sprouted from the ends of each one.

His hair also continued down his spine as well: his body until the hips was also colored black before the mud brown armor covered the legs and the feet started: the knee segment was decorated with a reddish edge, a main black color, and the forward edges were colored orange: the black coloring continued until the base of the feet from where three claws emerged from: two round orange spots were placed at the legs' ends.

"Flash Man doesn't do a grunt's work."

Flash Man was a bit taller than Beast Man but fell somewhat short in height when compared to his companions.

His face had no mouth or nose drawn into them and was a gray metallic piece instead: the area around the sides of the head and the jaw was colored navy blue: his eyes did have irises but were red in color: the top of his helmet had a general tear shaped with the upper section being colored yellow.

Flash Man's armor's main color was navy blue: a small cavity shaped like an arch was built on the front of his armor while two small greenish spots could be spotted on the chest area: two curved handle-like metallic tubes were set on his back, too plus two shirt collar – like formations the upper edge of with was colored metallic gray.

His shoulders were shaped as round spheroids: the middle section had a silver metallic band circling it plus a yellow dome-like form: the arms were colored black and, like most Net Navis, didn't have elbows: the forearms were covered by a partial dagger-like armor which only covered the upper part being colored blue with silver edges: the forearm had a gray metallic armlet set on the wrist as well.

His Net Navi emblem was set on the furthest edge of the forearm and consisted on a bright yellow star with four spikes set over a dim yellow background.

The body below the upper torso and legs was colored black until the knees where his boots began: the only special trait about them was a metallic gray triangle aiming downwards on each one plus the front edge of the boots was tinted in white.

"Uo~h… Desert Man's power is nothing to be looked down upon… Hoh, hoh, hoh…" The third one warned.

Desert Man (as if his name wasn't enough of a hint) seemed to be made up of just sand: his body rose out of the ground like a small tower but had no arms or legs: two round purple eyes shone from within a black space and a large black mouth sans tooth could be seen, too, and they created a creepy impression.

The upper portion of his body had three circles climbing upwards which slowly decreased in width: they had some square hollow spots on them, too plus a nose-like formation.

The only other noticeable things of his main body were three dome-shaped formations set in a row on each side of the body having a drawing into it: the outer edge was orange while the insides had two black shapes similar to the Alphabet letter "M" drawn there.

Two gigantic hands made out of sand and having four fingers each emerged from the ground, too.

"Drill Man – sama is invincible!"

Drill Man didn't have much of a "face" per se given how his eyes were set inside of two small rectangular holes with a nose-like formation between them.

He seemed to be over a meter and eighty tall: his chest's main color was red but the area around the stomach and below was colored orange: his upper body ended in a thin cylinder-shaped extension: his emblem's edge was yellow and its drawing was simple diagonal lines crossing through it starting at the SW and ending at the NE:

A small cone-shaped drill was set above his head and he had what looked like two halves of a drill's body set on his shoulders set aiming slightly downwards: his arms' "skin" was colored black and they had a small orange-like ring just before the wrists: two drills with a red circular support were placed where the hands should be at.

His waist had a round metallic piece which looked like it was part of the main drill body as well: his legs were colored black with some pale rectangles set forming a row and running down their sides until the feet started.

His feet had pale brown-like boots with two halves of a drill's body set on the front and rear of each one: the feet base was red and ended in drill-shaped feet aiming forward with a smaller drill aiming backwards.

"Muwro~h…"

"Shah, shah, shah! Not so fast, guys… Where's Bubble Man? Isn't he a WWW Navi, too?" Needle Man asked.

"Cousin Bubble Man? Hah. He got lost and we don't give a cent for him given how idiotic, coward, weak and useless the kid is." Drill Man scoffed.

"Oho. More "guests" are on their way here… Shah, shah, shah!"

"Hum! Someone got ahead of us."

"Meeting timed so that another party arrives first…"

"Oh. Shut up."

"_Check it out_! It was a good idea to ditch my Operator! Heh!"

"Shah, shah, shah! Say your names, guys!"

"Sword Man!"

Sword Man was a taller Navi than his companions, maybe striking at over a meter and eight or closer to a meter and ninety.

His head was shaped like a pyramidal sword's hilt placed on its sheath: the edges were red with two white spots at end of the upper edge: a vertical metallic white piece with a round grayish spot was set over the forehead and a brown handle emerged from atop the head: his face lacked a nose, had a thin mouth and his eyes were yellow irises sans pupils.

His main body was colored white and had a hexagonal form: two brownish metallic bands crossed the chest and formed a pyramid right in the middle, above and below the center section of the band, colored black.

His emblem was a simple close-up of a sword's blade which aimed upwards and set against a brownish background.

His shoulders were white spheroids with two white circle-shaped pieces covering the forearms and the segment below the shoulder: they lacked elbows.

The wrists had square brown armor over them and the hands' skin was black: he also carried a short sword with a brown hilt on his right hand.

His body below the torso had a pyramidal piece pointing downwards and a central sword's blade emerged running down the back.

Another two "heads" were set adjacent to the main one with their blades aiming SE and SW respectively: one had a blue edge and green eyes while the other had a yellow edge and small square eyes colored red: they were quiet at the moment.

"Unit Gravity Man: ready for action…"

This Navi had a more machine-like appearance to him: his main body was a spheroid split in two with both halves hovering into the air at a short distance between them: his main color was red.

The face was shaped like a dome: four square white teeth which didn't look they could move were set on the lower edge while two brown triangles pointing SW and SE were set on the face: his eyes were round, yellow, and "closed" as evidenced by a horizontal line splitting them in half.

The top part of the head had two circular metallic pieces set one atop the other and two antennae – like extensions as well.

The upper half had a large brownish circular band with short vertical stripes on them as if to mark the boundary between each segment: two cylinders came out from behind the upper half and they had that same circular rotating band on them.

The lower body had a white lower-half-of-a-circle drawing with a small vertical stripe dividing it in two: a white circle with a red arrow was aiming at the SE and it looked like an indicator of something: the body also had that brown rotating band on the upper edge.

His arms were detached from the body and hovered close to the lower edge of the body: they included the shoulders which were metallic gray plus a round white edge aiming NW: the segment inside of that was colored in a brownish color.

The arms and forearms were shaped like two cone-like bases with two round rotating brown bands on the middle section

These ended in three metallic claw-like extensions.

The final part to be seen were three metallic pieces which diminished in size as they stepped downwards: the third segment had a pyramidal-like end.

"I'm Star Man. I'm up for a thrill." One of the members of the newly arrived group announced with a shrug.

"Shah, shah, shah! That's the spirit!"

Star Man appealed as being shorter in height than Sword Man and even shorter than Needle Man but he had a more "humanoid" design to him: his upper body was colored navy blue and the rest of it was pure white.

His face was white in color: he had no nose and his eyes were navy blue with small round white spots on them: he had two round navy blue/blackish ear-pads with a small reddish cone coming out of them and aiming SE.

His hairstyle was punk in style (or at least gave off that impression): it consisted on five golden spikes aiming northwards

His emblem, a white star set against a blue background with red and blue edges, could be spotted on the forehead.

His arms were blue in color until the elbow and then turned white: he sported two tall boots with a brown upper edge just below the knee while their main color was a dull orange one.

Three golden bands were wrapped around his neck and a scar-like extension came out from behind it to end in a star shape.

"_Check it out_! Bright Man – sama's unbeatable! Nyah, hah, hah, hah, hah, ha~h!"

"That's for sure! Shah, shah, shah!"

The last component of this quartet stood as being more or less the same height as Star Man

His head was protected by a helmet.

This helmet covered the face all the way until the mouth: two round dome-shaped greenish bulbs seemed to be his eyes' equivalent system.

The helmet's band covering the part where his nose and eyes would be at was tinted black yet the upper section of it had been colored using orange coloring: two grayish metallic cone-formation objects protruded from the sides of the helmet and ended in a bluish spheroid.

Two glowing green wires came out from two spots behind the head.

They ended in two electrical plugs colored metallic gray and blue.

His neck was covered in the orange vest which ended a short distance from the waist.

His emblem, an orange sphere with six straight lines coming out of its lower edge and set against a sky blue background, was set inside of a navy blue edge with an arrow aiming downwards.

His upper body had an orange vest built there and the rest of the upper body was colored yellow.

Two round fluorescent bands were set around his shoulders from where his yellow-skinned arms came out: the forearm armor had an upper orange section and a lower navy blue section.

A sky blue band circled the diameter of it close to where the armor began: a piece of armor shaped like a diamond was located over the palm.

The front part of it had another green fluorescent piece on it while the rear part was plain armor: his hands were covered by white "skin".

His lower body and legs were also orange in coloring and were covered in armor from the knees downwards.

The armor was also orange, had two blue round stripes, and ended in circular shoes with greenish fluorescent band and metallic soils.

"Shah, shah, shah, shah! O. K.! So! We're gonna discard Bubble Man… Anyway… I called ya guys here 'cause I wanna suggest something to ya guys, ya see..." Needle Man went straight to the point.

"Oh? And what would that be?" Plant Man asked.

"Simple! We'll create a "secret army" of solo Navis! We're gonna come out into the real world: we'll fight the bothersome eyesore humans! So?"

"Mwa, hah, hah, hah, ha~h! Count me in!" Beast Man laughed.

"Hmpf. Fine." Flash Man was unimpressed.

"Uo~h… Chaos and fear…!" Desert Man made a dry chuckle.

"Hah! I'll smash them into dust." Drill Man boasted.

"W-wait! I'm late!" Someone exclaimed.

"Ah! I was forgetting ya… Bowl Man!"

"Bowl Man?" Star Man asked.

Bowl Man was a largely tall Net Navi: his upper body color was white yet his neck's base was red in color:

The edges around his head shared the same coloring while his face was white in color: his eyes were plainly red in color and lacked iris to them: his nose was also red in color and he had a mouth.

Four fang-like formations were set on the lower edge of his jaw and aiming upwards towards his face: his ear-pads' edge was tinted red and contained his emblem inside: three round green dots forming a triangle's outline set against a black background.

The other striking fact about his head was a yellowish edge circling the forehead with a bowling ball colored green set atop it.

His arms were made of three bowling balls colored green: his hands were colored black and had a small piece of greenish armor covering the upper part of them.

His legs' color palette was red: they had a cross-shaped piece of armor over the knees and ended right on the ankle: white shoes with a small yellow round band were placed there, too.

Two gray pieces of armor covered the flanks and ended above the knees.

Lastly, Bowl Man carried a pin having a black base, a red stripe over it and white body attached to his back.

"Huff… Huff… Making all the way to a forgotten spot in Izu ain't that easy…!" He cursed as he tried to recover his breath.

"Anyway… I have a score to settle with a runaway mouse, so count me in into this idea!" Sword Man announced.

"_Check it out_! It's gonna be fun!" Bright Man grinned.

"Sure…" Star Man shrugged.

"Sha, sha, sha! Ah! If you wanna something in exchange… Have these on for a try!"

Needle Man suddenly opened a compartment in the ground and pulled out a large armored box which he unlocked.

"Here! Catch!"

Needle Man tossed all of them some objects which they ended up picking.

"Are there the real stuff?" Star Man asked.

"Shah, shah, shah! Test it out!"

"_Check it out_! It's become interesting!"

"Ya guys will come out and seek your own targets… I'll suggest good places where ya will be able to cause a good ruckus… Shah, shah, shah!"

"Affirmative." Gravity Man dully intoned.

"And we get this stuff, too…!" Beast Man sounded amused.

"Shah, shah, shah! But those are for "emergencies"! I don't have infinite stock, guys! I have to ration 'em!" Needle Man warned.

"Good." Flash Man calmly told him.

"Shah, shah, shah! Let's meet early at 8:05 AM! And if ya see Bubble Man then tell 'im we don't count 'im in and go harvest bubbles in Alaska via DHL!" Needle Man grinned.

"Sure! I was tired of the guy, anyway. The only good thing he could do when we played hockey was to watch the goal."

"Shah, shah, shah! Beware of the treacherous "Hunter's Guild" guys, too! Hide in remote spots and don't lower the guard! Their turn will come later but we're so gonna have payback on 'em, too!" Needle Man cautioned.

"Uo~h… Excellent…! They humiliated us back in the summer when we were in Alaska… They shall pay for it!" Desert Man proclaimed.

"Heh, heh, heh… I smell profits." Plant Man chuckled.

Needle Man rubbed his hands in obvious excitement once he was alone.

"Needle Man? It'd seem it ended up working, didn't it?"

"Yeah, Yuriko! Ya are a genius, really!"

A communications window formed in the air and displayed the face of a woman on her mid-twenties.

She had teal brown hair which ended up in tail which hung directly over her right shoulder.

She sported sunglasses plus purple lipstick and was smiling.

"I knew it'd be a good idea to recruit the guys who worked for the "Professor" and that runaway Bright Man guy… The "Professor" happened to have resurrected some of them but they could escape back when the Official Net Battlers got the man… Heh, heh, heh. This a thousand times more worth my time than being a schoolteacher in a shabby elementary school...!" The woman, Yuriko, muttered with some amusement.

"Shah, shah, shah! Yeah! Huh? Mail… Troll-F? Who's that? Huh? "Blistering blister of blisters will throw ya overboard along with your pocket shark-shaped submarine which we have NO interest into: Troll-F tells ya to go pick lilies in the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and maybe you'll be lucky and discover a galleon's watery grave to claim its shining shiner of shines treasure~…" … How stupid!"

"Whatever! Be afraid, very afraid, Net Saviors and Officials…!"


	2. Chapter 1: Soul Unison!

**Chapter 1: Soul Unison!**

09:09 AM (Japan Time), Saturday September the 30th…

"… Troll-Z…? Oho. Zero came up with a new joke, Saito – niisan!"

"Fan – tas – tic."

"Why are ya putting up that dry face?"

"I preferred him serious."

"Ya can't pretend to be stiff forever!"

"Yeah? Do you think everyone likes trolling?"

"Sure!"

"Then you're rather mistaken, Netto – kun. There are people who get irritated at that stuff."

"Che! Wisdom Man strikes at me from the NNW flank and knows everything…"

"Very original, really."

"Listen, listen! "Blowing blower of blows tells fighting fighter of fights to travel to Shadow Moses Island inside of a gigantic tuna disguise and then try to recollect some _souvenirs_ from there without the explicit permission of chanting chanter of chants." … So?"

"Hah, hah. Zero doesn't have the right kind of personality to make good puns."

"Maybe ya prefer Forte's?"

"No."

Hikari Netto and Saito were talking while having a breakfast on their house's living room: Netto was reading something using his Link PET while Saito looked dry and unimpressed: both were still clad in pajamas and Netto's hair was loose given how he hadn't put his bandana back on as of yet.

"Now, now! Saito. Don't be so dry, dear." Hikari Haruka told him as she looked up from the daily newspapers.

"Sorry, Mama, but I've always been skeptical of repetitive jokes. Papa used to be serious and so was the Science Labs' staff, so…" Saito calmly replied.

"Of course… But some humor can do well from time to time."

"From time to time, but not _every day_."

"What… Is there a law which says that 1st grade guys can't have jokes outside of school or what?" Netto grinned.

"No."

"Oho! Troll-F… Listen, listen! "Pick an energy sword from one fallen Elite and slaughter 100 Grunts to then sell "Grunt Blood" as a _souvenir_ from the Human – Covenant War Battlefield." … This one was a bit grim in tone, I think…" Netto looked somewhat nervous.

"No wonder… _Halo_ is a game series rated 17+ and very "gore" in nature, so… I guess Forte should've thought it twice before mailing that to you, Netto – kun." Saito calmly shrugged.

"Oh! By the way… Could you make a favor and go run some errands at the shopping mall?" Haruka requested of them.

"Sure!" Netto grinned.

"Fine." Saito calmly confirmed.

"Huh? Oho. Troll-O… Omega showed up! "Yo! Clark Kent – sama demands the elixir of eternal life~! Make sure to bring it to the guy in a DHL – certified package~! Or else he'll say ya are fired 'cause he needs a DHL certificate to show it off to his _aibou_~! Rolling roller of rolls is gonna unleash the invincible army of Mettols which will build ya a palace in just 72 hours and for free~! Slice and dice, cut and put, max and mark and then go all out on Jeremy's watery grave~! Omega – sama invites ya to _curry a la Confucius_ for supper today~! See ya 'round the rotunda~! _Bye – bye~_!" … Hilarious!" Netto read.

"That sounds like a collage improvised in 5 minutes."

"True." Haruka giggled.

"Don't tell me you find it funny, Mama…"

"He bothered to make all vowels stand out, so..."

"Ah. Guess so."

"Come on, niisan! I know what your problem is. Ya are impatiently waiting for the newest release of that _manga_…" Netto teased.

"Netto – kun… You are the one who devours _manga_. I prefer foreign literature." Saito rolled his eyes.

"O. K.! Last one to fix the bed buys ice-cream! _Ready~… Go_!"

Netto suddenly ran upstairs and Saito snapped out of it to chase him into the bedroom: both began to pull out the covers for their beds and put them back in the regular manner plus arranging the pillow: Saito finished a few seconds earlier than Netto and grinned while Netto let out a moan of frustration.

"No way…! I had the time advantage!" He complained.

"Time advantage is nothing compared to skill." Saito grinned.

"Crap."

"So?" Saito challenged.

"Alright…" Netto sighed in defeat.

"Let's get dressed while we're at it."

"Sure~…"

Saito giggled as he searched inside of the drawers and Netto kept on rolling his eyes and mumbling something under his breath.

"I'll win ya next time!"

"Come anytime."

10:14 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Oho. Hiro. Ya came to pick your _manga_, too?"

"Yeah. Besides… I wanted to stretch for a while."

"Any news from the "Hunters' Guild", Delta?"

"The usual stuff…"

Netto (sporting his usual set of clothes and the bandana) and Saito (sporting a blue vest, a white shirt, jeans, navy blue socks and white sneakers) were speaking with a guy and his Net Navi.

The guy looked slightly over a meter and fifty tall: his hair's color was jet black and it was totally messy (similar to Netto's) while his eyes' irises were blue.

He sported a reddish sleeveless vest over a black shirt and a pair of grayish jeans plus black sneakers.

He also carried a Link PET the emblem of which was the lowercase _delta_ character painted silver and set against a black background: the PET's colors were red and white.

"Akashi Hiro. Ya are gonna pain the classroom's walls red with oil-based spray? Your name hints at it, did ya know it? I'm Guess It All Man!" Netto grinned.

"No way…" Hiro looked taken aback.

"Netto – kun!" Saito protested.

"Hiro – kun is a nice person!"

"Yeah, Delta?"

Delta's main body color was jet black while his forearms, boots, shoulder plates, rear-pack and helmet were painted silver.

His face looked strikingly similar to Rock Man's although he had some slight differences regarding the eyes' irises (which were blue) and the shape of his cheek bones.

His emblem was the same _delta_ character set on his chest and ear-pads: the central part of his helmet had a murkier silver color to it plus two rectangles and one band cutting across it starting at the back: some jet black hair came out from behind the helmet as well.

Overall, he looked extremely similar to Rock Man and seemed to be around his height as well.

"Yeah. Be serious, Hikari – kun." He replied.

"Serious as in seriousness?" Netto replied.

"Sadly, Delta… Omega – san, Forte and Zero are a bad influence."

"And Enzan went around pretending he was Colonel Campbell… I'm no rookie like Raiden was!" Hiro chuckled.

"You've seen too much _Metal Gear Solid_ videos, Hiro – kun."

"How couldn't I? They were _spectacular_!"

"Sure, sure."

"Heh, heh, heh. And ya were learning all ya could from the _Legend of Zelda_ series… Did _daimaou – sama_ tell ya to go collect roses in the Amazon jungle?" Hiro chuckled.

"Please…" Delta sounded exasperated.

"Heh, heh, heh. What bothersome foolish humans!" A voice suddenly rang out through all of the shopping mall's speakers.

"Who…?" Netto gasped.

"Sounds like a Navi…" Saito calmly commented.

"Oho. Thrill came." Hiro grinned.

"More like catastrophe came." Delta shot back.

"I shall take control of this filthy building and turn it into a precious tropical garden! Mwa, hah, hah, hah! Experience fear and chaos, you eyesore humans!" The voice exclaimed.

The walls rumbled and there were some noises before all environments colors became distorted and became a random mix: the four of them lifted their eyebrows in surprise.

"… A "Dimensional Area"…?" Hiro wondered.

"Cool…" Delta muttered.

"Guess it's gotta be one of those WWW Navis who ran away back when Wily was arrested… Denpa – san did tell us about them." Netto calmly deduced.

"And I told you guys the "Hunters' Guild" found them in Alaska under disguises and trying to be the absolute champions of a second-class hockey lane…" Delta reminded them.

"True, true!" Hiro remembered.

Data suddenly appeared on the air and materialized to give way to walls of vegetation, large tree roots, vines, flowers, grass and dirt which extended across the corridor having some benches and the toilets' entrances on it plus connecting to the hubs of the shopping center building.

"Guess it's our turn to shine!" Hiro grinned.

"Oh yeah!"

"Maybe we can test that enigmatic program Vadous – san gave us and requested of us to only use in special occasions…" Saito ventured while forming a smile.

"We'll show you the results of our intense summer training, too!" Delta blinked them an eye.

They ran inside of the men's restroom and found it empty so Netto opened a random stall and Saito sat down atop the closed toilet: he then closed his eyes and Netto checked the Link PET's screen: Rock Man showed up inside of it and he stretched.

"I feel good. Let's go for it, Netto – kun!"

"Same thing over 'ere! Let's go _Ocelot style_!" Hiro grinned.

Both drew a special device: a metallic Chip with a dome-shaped green jewel atop it and eight black strokes surrounding it. The Hikari crest was set on the SE side of it at a small size.

"Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"

Both held their Link PETs forward: they glowed and became spheroids of white/bluish light which then expanded: both guys spread their arms and legs wide out of instinct as the light grew in size and hid their bodies for a short period of time before it dimmed to reveal how they'd gone through some kind of transformation.

Netto had gained Rock Man's bodysuit over his normal clothes but with some design differences: the plating over his shoulders had a more pyramid-like form and was aiming towards the NW and NE, respectively.

The helmet's design was different as well: a bright blue-colored fin-shape piece formed at the sides, emerging from the ear pads' upper edge and extended until the end of the helmet: an arch was drawn over it and the space inside of it had a deeper tonality of blue.

That same forehead drawing which his other form had was set on the same place, and the helmet's front now extended until the start of the nose: his hair now flowed out in a more natural manner from behind it.

A pale blue border formed around it and a straight line travelled towards the emblem to form a curve surrounding the lower half of it: the curve ended with a small "spike" drawing pointing downwards.

His forearm design included a thin separation around the elbow: the two combined sections formed a hexagon with a green jewel set on its center: the short section set on the rear half of the elbow was colored navy blue while the rest of the forearm was slightly brighter.

The blue borders travelling down the sides of his upper body ended around the hips: two circular bands of the bright blue color were drawn over them with a small separation between them.

His boots' design was based upon that of his forearms: the soil was painted black and separated from the rest of the foot by a bright blue line.

The jetpack design had changed a bit, too, and it now included bright blue pieces connecting the upper right and left edges with the body: a curved red line was drawn half-way across it: the rest of the backpack looked identical to how Rock Man's usual form.

Hiro's "fusion" design looked very similar if not identical to Netto's with the only difference being the jet black and silver color pattern instead of sky blue and navy blue.

"Cross Fusion successful!" Rock Man reported.

"Yessir! Success!" Hiro laughed.

"Let's go, "CF" Hiro!"

"Same thing over 'ere, "CF" Netto!"

Both ran out of the toilets and towards the left into one of the cylindrical hubs of the shopping mall building now turned into a large shaft filled with a gigantic palm tree and coconuts.

"This building is built like five cylinders with rectangular structure linking each of them thus making a total of 12 corridors. But if this guy likes being in the center of the world, then he'll be at the central cylinder…" "CF" Netto exposed as they went over an information map set on the wall.

"Sure thing… The Boss is always in the middle of the room. Maybe we need to bring out the M1 Abrahams and start the stuff with a greeting from Vulcan Raven to this _Cossack_." "CF" Hiro chuckled.

"That's why I say you see too many videos…" Delta sighed.

"At least it's more bearable than the "Troll Trio"…"

"Sure…"

"O. K.! Let's go send this guy to Stockholm via DHL and freeze into an ice sculpture there!" "CF" Netto sounded amused.

"I'd rather pick Ystad…" Rock Man muttered.

"Go!" "CF" Hiro rallied.

10:31 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Look. That's gotta be the guy."

"Lives up to his specialty…"

"What are we waiting for?"

"Go!"

"CF" Netto and "CF" Hiro were crouching behind the handrail set around the circular opening which was part of light feed system and allowed one to look at the two floors above and below them: Plant Man was standing on the ground floor and examining a gigantic sequoia tree.

"Heh, heh, heh. Not bad… And since my Viruses have sabotaged all doors, the pitiful humans are trapped around this filthy place. Even if they could run out of the building, they'd meet my jungle treeing with life… And as long as the "Dimensional Area" is working… No – one can come in or out of this place! Mwa, hah, hah, ha~h!" He laughed aloud.

"Heat this up." "CF" Hiro whispered.

"Sure thing… Battle Chip, Hell's Burner…"

"Battle Chip, Fire Man V3…"

"Hey! Where did you get that one?"

"Easy! I challenged the Maha Ichiban's staff for training. But Magic Man was hard to beat, mind ya… The tale can wait: let's take down this unbalanced jerk…"

Both nodded in agreement and then circled around the opening without standing up and in total silence to aim for Plant Man's back as he spread his arms open and kept on laughing.

"Now!" Both whispered.

"CF" Netto shot a stream of flames which hit Plant Mans' back while a copy of Fire Man appeared on the field and bathed Plant Man in flames: both then quickly ran around the shaft and then lied down on the ground.

"Gruh… Grah…! W-who the hell…? Who the hell dares to bring fire to my jungle? Show your hides, you lowlifes! I'll destroy you~!" Plant Man roared aloud.

"Calling on Trouble~!"

"Who the hell!"

Two figures suddenly dropped down from the 3rd floor and crashed atop Plant Man thus generating a cloud of dust while a growl – like sound, Plant Man's yells and someone's pitchy voice rang out.

"What's going on down there?" "CF" Hiro wondered.

"I think I know who's there…" "CF" Netto giggled.

The smoke cleared to reveal Forte standing atop Plant Man along with "Gospel", the "Ultimate Bug Fusion Body", but which looked smaller than it had used to.

"Forte and Gospel Jr. have shown up to save the day~!"

"You lowlife are… _THE_ Forte…! The man we were searching for…!" Plant Man cursed.

"Oi! Guys! Come down and gimme a hand, will ya? Ah! Gospel Jr.! Make sure to keep this guy under your feet."

"Grawl! Grrr! Gruh…"

"CF" Netto and "CF" Hiro dropped down into the ground floor while Plant Man was struggling to break free as "Gospel Jr." kept him pinned into the ground using the right paw.

"You lowlifes…! Net Saviors…!"

"Yeah. You worked for the WWW, didn't ya?"

"Hmpf! My name is Plant Man!"

"Honoring your name, eh?" "CF" Hiro taunted.

"You lowlifes! Plant Weed!"

Some vines with thorns suddenly formed out of nowhere and coiled around each fighter's legs, arms, torso and necks before dragging them towards the wall and making them slam into it: they tried to pull free of them but were unable to: Plant Man suddenly vanished and reappeared standing in a ledge of the tree: "Gospel Jr." turned towards it and rammed into it thus breaking part of it down.

"Bothersome dog. Vanish! Rose Needle!"

Several needles formed into the air and bombarded "Gospel Jr." but they had little to no effect as they were deleted upon impact and only produced a small metallic sound.

"What the…!"

"Heh…! My pet's armor can't be pierced: it's impregnable!" Forte grinned at him.

"Che. Then be deleted!"

The vines began to close around their necks: Forte didn't seem to be affected, but "CF" Hiro and "CF" Netto were obviously having trouble breathing at this rate.

"C-crap…! O-oi… Gospel Jr…! Fire! Spit fire!" "CF" Hiro called out.

"Ya heard them!" Forte commanded.

Gospel Jr. opened its mouth, but, suddenly, several vines entered inside of it and the beast was left unable to move.

"Hmpf! Nobody sets their dirty feet here without paying consequences for it!" Plant Man scoffed.

"Gruh…! Rock Man…! Can you… try out… the program…?" "CF" Netto whispered between coughs.

"I'll t-try to…! V Program… Pretty large file… Will take about 1 minute to initialize and execute, but… Who cares! Execute!"

"Huh…? Uh… Unh… Ah… T-this feeling is…! Power…! Power is building up… on my body… Ua~h!"

Some purple-colored streaks of light jumped out "CF" Netto's chest emblem followed by a shockwave which swept all materialized vegetation (including the three) and destroyed it: Plant Man actually fell and hit his head with the floor while a purple-colored sphere of energy surrounded "CF" Netto.

"W-what's that…? That power…! I'd never felt anything like it before…! It's gigantic…!" Forte gasped.

"W-whoa!"

"You lowlife~!" Plant Man roared.

The light began to dim and everyone gasped: Plant Man even turned white and stepped back while looking terrified.

"That form is…!" "CF" Hiro gasped.

"W-whoa!" Forte gasped.

"Grawl?" Gospel Jr. sounded surprised.

"CF" Netto had gained a new layer of armor over his Cross Fusion bodysuit: it was colored purple with some black patterns into it.

His helmet had gained a terrific-looking faceplate two crimson-colored hexagons were set over the eyes while the nose and the mouth were covered by a triangular piece which had a matrix of vertical and horizontal straight lines on it: the design looked reminiscent of a gas mask's filter.

The armor included a black metallic belt with a round central point having the Hikari family crest drawn into it plus two decorated sword sheaths attached to both sides of it.

The whole thing looked reminiscent of _Darth Vader_'s own design.

"… Vadous Soul… Non Elemental form with no weakness… Capable of using a total of nine "Special Abilities" once per battle plus one "extra" ability… Float Shoes Ability pre-installed… Super Armor Ability pre-installed… Buster power: MAX. Automatic "lock-on" feature… Detailed information added to instruction manual email to be emitted later…"

"Vadous… Soul…! So that's how Mr. Vadous looks like…! He's gotta be a _Darth Vader_ fan… Oh! Why didn't I spot it before…? It was so obvious: the _name_ was a strong hint to begin with…!" "CF" Hiro gasped.

"W-whoa… Float Shoes… Super Armor… Lock on… special abilities… That's gotta be… the ultimate transformation…!" Forte gasped.

"… Vicious Fire!" "CF" Netto exclaimed.

He suddenly signaled Plant Man with his right hand's middle finger: black-colored flames suddenly formed all over his body and Plant Man roared in agony: "CF" Netto dashed past "CF" Hiro and Forte in a blur and drew both swords which were frizzling with electricity: a cloud had formed over Plant Man and made intense rain shower him: "CF" Netto then jumped across the air and plunged both swords into Plant Man's chest: his body was electrified as the swords emerged from behind him and Plant Man uttered some guttural sounds before he began to be deleted and his data vanished from the scene: "CF" Netto landed on the ground while still holding both swords and in a crouched manner.

"… Netto?" "CF" Hiro timidly called out.

"Eh… Are ya alright?" Forte asked.

The vegetation began to fade as well and Forte looked around.

"Ops. I can't stay materialized… I'll be in the nearest "Cybernetics" you can find with "Gospel Jr."… Check on him." Forte admitted.

"Uh-unh… Sure…" "CF" Hiro confirmed.

Forte and "Gospel Jr." dematerialized while the "Dimensional Area" colors faded: "CF" Hiro's form shone white and broke down into data which reformed into his Link PET: "CF" Netto's "Vadous Soul" armor turned into data and fell into the ground in the form of a Battle Chip having a medallion with a purple "V" letter drawn on it set against a black background while "CF" Netto's form broke down and reformed into his Link PET: Netto suddenly collapsed face-down in the ground and Hiro ran next to him: he had a big grin on his face and Hiro lifted his eyebrows in surprise…

11:03 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Eh… Yuriko… We got some trouble."

"What do you mean by "some" trouble? There is or there isn't trouble. But one doesn't count "trouble"."

"Eh… Plant Man got deleted!"

"… By whom?"

"One Net Savior… I saw it, Yuriko… Scary~!"

"Scary?"

Needle Man was reporting to Yuriko and he looked like he'd lost much of his earlier confidence: Yuriko didn't look impressed.

"Y-yeah! He transformed or something and without uttering a word, set the guy on flames, bathed him in rainwater, electrified him and plunged two swords through him! And THE Forte is out there, too, so we're going to have a hell of a time handling this!" Needle Man nervously described to her.

"Che. Can't be helped, huh… We'll do what we can. Tell the guys that Plant Man got over-confident and forgot to use the _backup tool_. This should settle them." Yuriko scoffed.

"R-roger…"

"Hmpf. I'm going to bring about my little plan which will prove that I'm a genius, too. I won't let that creepy old man and that bearded military background scientist get away with the glory."

She suddenly switched off the communications screen and Needle Man sighed in defeat without spotting a figure clad in red armor hidden behind a component of the Cyber World and looking towards there while emitting a low "breathing" sound.

_Hmpf. So that's how it is about… Fine. I'll tell the Science Labs… You will fail in a pathetic manner, Needle Man… I predict this stuff won't even last 2 weeks… Heh, heh, heh, heh…_


	3. Chapter 2: Examination

**Chapter 2: Examination**

12:18 PM (Japan Time), Saturday September the 30th…

"… So, Papa? What do you think?"

"Netto's alright: he doesn't have any visible injuries. He just did too much physical stress combined to the one of keeping the Cross Fusion stable and thus fainted… How do you feel, by the way, Saito?"

"A bit tired, too… I have trouble staying awake."

"Obviously… You felt some of its effects, too."

"But it won't mean long-term after-effects?"

"No. Not at all. It's just a matter of getting used to it, like any sportsman practicing a sport."

"I see… Have you looked at the program?"

"Not yet. But I'm sure it must be something impressive."

Saito was standing next to Hikari Yuuichirou in a Science Labs room as Netto was undergoing a magnetic resonance scan: he was clad in a hospital cloth which reached until the knees and he didn't have his bandana on: he still looked unconscious but the grin from his face was still there.

"Whoa. He sure had a thrill!"

"Obviously…"

Hiro was also looking on while whistling in surprise while Delta (projecting out of the Link PET in the form of a hologram) was sitting on the right shoulder and looking calm.

"When Netto – kun tests out something new, he can't stop bragging about it for several days. No wonder he ended up with that smile."

"Well, I think that's what defines him." Yuuichirou smiled.

"So! He just needs a rest and he'll be back to normal?" Hiro asked.

"Yeah. I'd rather say he doesn't do much exercise afterwards but he should be fine by tomorrow."

"Hello." A voice rang out.

"Huh? Ah! Zero! Been a while!"

Zero had showed up on Netto's empty Link PET: his face kept on being immobile and he had his arms folded.

"I have news… I found out who sent Plant Man there."

"Who?"

"Needle Man."

"Needle Man…? Wait! Wasn't he the Navi of Yaito – chan's gardener? He ran berserk back when the "Zero Virus Incident"… I did have to use some of his rude speech to make my way into the Reverse Internet and try to find the hideout of the "Professor"…" Saito recalled.

"Correct. But it'd seem he abandoned his Operator and has joined forces with a mysterious woman named Yuriko… She looks on her 20s. Needle Man pretends to be a solo Navi and has involved the WWW Navis and some Navis who worked for the "Professor" including Star Man…"

"Star Man: the fake vaccine seller… And you're gonna tell us Gravity Man and Sword Man are also there?" Saito asked next.

"Correct. There's another guy named Bright Man, too…"

"And he ditched his Operator after we subdued him… He was somewhat of annoyance, too."

"Ah. I think you guys haven't heard about this one… Bowl Man: solo Navi who run his own bowling lane… There was supposed to be a guy named Bubble Man taking part, too, but he got lost and missed it, so I'd say we count the guy out." Zero added.

"So… How many?" Hiro asked.

"Nine, including Needle Man."

"If they all come one after the other, then… It'd take nine days to defeat them." Delta calmly calculated.

"By the way, Rock Man… What happened to your Operator?"

"No big deal, really. We tried out a new program which boosted up our "Cross Fusion" fighting potential and he ended up tired."

"Ah. Fine… By the way, I met Omega."

"Did he tell you his newest troll?"

"First thing he did: his Boss then yelled at him over the radio to snap outta it and be serious. He's gonna try to get a hold of that woman's physical location." Zero confirmed.

The Link PET rang and Saito patched a call in: a man on his 20s with black hair and blue eyes showed up onscreen.

"Oh! Vadous – san! It's been a while, sir." Saito politely greeted.

"Did my program prove useful?"

"Yes, sir. Netto – kun ended up collapsing but he'll be fine with some rest…"

"Ah. I should've thought of that…" Vadous sounded guilty.

"But, sir, it was nothing critical, sir." Saito replied.

"Well, yeah, but…"

"But the Zombie Club will show up with the 3:33 PM Dover express to then cross into Calais through the Chunnel." An amused voice rang out in the background.

"Omega. How many times do I tell you to announce your entrance into the command bridge?" The man looked over his right shoulder.

"A billion, maybe?"

"I give up."

"Yo! Sai – chan!"

"W-what did you say, sir?"

"Sai – chan! Ain't modern?"

"No, sir!"

"My, my. Being conservative?"

"No, sir! I am being rational."

"So you're gonna ration Ooyama's meat?"

"I don't need to, sir!"

"Omega…!" Vadous began to sound annoyed.

"Yeah, _shachou_?"

"… Get out."

"Sure. Bye, Sai – chan. Beware of Akashi's secret weapon: he'll beat ya to Sakurai. _Au revoir_!"

"OMEGA~!" Vadous roared.

The sound of quick footsteps running over metallic ground was heard along with a giggle and the hum of a machine starting up: Vadous fumed and looked rather annoyed.

"Do excuse me for my behavior, Hikari – hakase, sir, but I always had one defect: short patience." He addressed Yuuichirou.

"No wonder… Having to bear with such crazy humor day after day must be enough to drive anyone insane." Yuuichirou muttered.

"Bertie~! Come at me~!" Omega's voice suddenly echoed.

"Omega! Stop yelling inside of the elevator shaft!" Vadous cursed as he glanced behind him.

"Clark Kent – sama~! I've got the medicine for the nausea~!"

"Go broom your room!" Vadous yelled back.

"Roger, Grand Moff Tarkin!"

"I AM NOT GRAND MOFF TARKIN! GO – BROOM – YOUR – ROOM!"

There was the sound of quick footsteps running away plus a heavy door opening and closing: Vadous had dropped his PET atop something allowing one to sight a dome-shaped metallic ceiling with some kind of hatch on the middle of it through the PET's camera.

"_Mille millions de mille sabords_!" He cursed off-screen.

"…"A billion blue blistering barnacles"…" Both Delta and Saito automatically translated.

"Oho. Ya two synchronized, eh?" Hiro teased.

"Why shouldn't we?" Both asked.

"Dunno. Maybe Otacon knows about it."

"Otacon?" Saito frowned.

"A character in _MGS_…" Delta replied.

"Ah. What's so special about him?"

"He designed a Metal Gear and he's a fan of Japanese anime: take into account the series' characters live in Ameroupe, so…"

"Yeah. I get the point…"

"Oho. Ms. Moon is back after having put on make-up." Hiro suddenly told Delta.

"Why do ya always have to bring that up? _Mujura's Mask_ wasn't a thing to laugh at: it was pretty serious!"

"Unh… What's this whole scandal…?"

Everyone looked back towards Netto: Yuuichirou had pulled the stretcher back to end the magnetic resonance scan and he was just waking up while rubbing his eyes, yawning and stretching.

"Netto. How do you feel?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Huh? Papa? Where's this at?"

"Science Labs. You overdid it when fighting Plant Man and lost consciousness, so I had to run a check-up of your body to ensure there wouldn't be sequels to it."

"Oh. But I did defeat the guy?"

"Yeah. Unmistakably." Saito confirmed.

"Hah… That was… Dunno, thrilling… I suddenly felt a rush of thrill and I wanted to be the cool guy with some secret super-power which ends up busting the bad guy…" Netto grinned.

"No wonder." Saito calmly told him.

"So? What happened while I was napping?" Netto asked.

"Zero already found out who sent the guy and how many Net Navis have been gathered, who gathered them and their names. Omega tried to troll us, too." Saito summed up.

"Nice recap." Netto joked.

"Guess so. If you have any questions regarding the program, Vadous – san is on the line, so…"

"Oh! Vadous – san! It's been a while!"

"Yeah. Anyway… Like the program announced… You can use several abilities and the order is up to you."

"And what's the last skill?"

"I named it "Chaos Beam"… It's like a Charge Shot but with a 50% power bonus… It drains a lot of energy, so try to only use it when you feel ready to use it or have Full Energy Sub Chips at hand…" Vadous warned.

"Roger."

"Attention! Attention! Warning! Warning! An X – Wing has entered the trench and is gonna fire a proton torpedo straight to the core! All hands: abandon ship! Warning!"

"What!" Vadous gasped.

"Repeat! All hands: abandon ship!"

"Wait a minute… X Wing? Proton torpedo…? Core…? Omega~! Stop trolling me with quotes from _Episode IV: A New Hope_!" Vadous cursed aloud.

"Then…"

"I know the next joke and I don't plan on changing my name. I am who I am. End of story, Omega! Broom the corridor or go into the WWW Area to defeat those weird Viruses!"

"Sure, Boss."

"That guy… I'm about to rewrite his personality file, really."

"No wonder." Hiro shrugged.

"Anyway… I'll send a report to the Net Police and the Officials. I guess Blues will be eager to come out and get some glory." Zero let out.

"Not Blues but Enzan: he must be totally fed up with having to keep on with his VP job." Netto chuckled.

"Sure… Maybe I'll forward him a joke. Later."

"I've got business to wrap up, too, so… Kir Osh will take care of picking up messages." Vadous told them.

"Later."

The communication finished and Saito pocketed the Link PET: Netto suddenly looked at his hospital cloth.

"Who changed me?"

"Me." Saito replied.

"So?" Netto asked with a grin.

"Do you think I'm a _baka_, Netto – kun?" He asked with a hint of annoyance.

"No, no… I just wanted to check if ya could… eh… hold back."

"Hold back from what?" Yuuichirou asked while looking puzzled.

"From making an ever greater mess of his hair." Saito shrugged.

"Ah. If it's just that…" Yuuichirou shrugged.

Hiro beat an eyebrow and looked like he'd caught another meaning to it while Delta remained calm.

"Well! The examination is over: you can go get dressed again… Saito. Go with him just in case he's still tired or feeling after-effects."

"Roger."

Netto grinned and calmly walked out while humming a tune: Saito put on a stone face and followed him: Hiro kept on looking amused.

"By the way… Hiro – kun. Are you doing good progress at the institute this year?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Huh? Ah! Yeah, yeah… Dekao tends to get annoying and persistent. But he doesn't give up in looking cool to Meiru – chan…" Hiro quickly replied after a split second of distraction.

"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to request support from foreign branches of the Officials… I heard there was a man named Laika who had a skilled Navi named Search Man…" Delta suggested.

"True. And we also have Commander Barrel and Colonel… But I think that the _Three Musketeers_ plus the "Hunter's Guild" should suffice… We are superior in numbers and have variety, so…" Yuuichirou smiled.

"Hmmm? Hiro – kun. Mail. From Sigma."

"Sigma? What did he come up with today?"

"He suggests placing a sculpture of Ganondorf in Reverse Square to intimidate the grunts and make them think Serenade's appearance is just like that." Delta rolled his eyes.

"Heh, heh, heh. Sigma beats them all!"

Hiro chuckled at it while Yuuichirou rolled his eyes as well…

12:44 PM (Japan Time)…

"… We want an explanation, Needle Man!"

"Yeah! Talk up!"

"Uo~h… Confess!"

"Loose the tongue!"

"Shah, shah, shah! I can explain it, really!"

"Then start already!"

Flash Man, Beast Man, Desert Man and Drill Man were confronting Needle Man: he looked nervous and like his confidence had fallen.

"P-Plant Man was doing well! But an unforeseen asset kicked into the scene!"

"What "unforeseen asset", huh?" Flash Man demanded.

"W-well… One Net Savior could do some kind of terrific transformation and started a combo attack which wiped Plant Man out! B-but… If we strike during the week next time, they'll send another which will be easier to beat, s-so…! B-but… At least we found out about that transformation, mind ya! Shah, shah, shah!" He tried to sound confident.

"Uo~h…! If something like that happens again… You lowlife will spend an eternity wandering across a never-ending desert!" Desert Man warned as he signaled him with his right hand's middle finger.

"Yeah! I'll slice you lowlife up and toss your remains to the Viruses! How's that one like, huh?" Beast Man menaced.

"I'll use my daggers to cut your neck!" Flash Man hissed.

"I'll drill through you lowlife!" Drill Man proclaimed.

"Sha, sha, sha! I get it! I get it! Calm down, guys!"

The four of them merely logged out and Needle Man sighed in defeat while he slapped his forehead.

"Hum! I'm also warning you! My triple combo will make bits and bytes of you if you try to double-cross us!" Sword Man warned.

"My gravitational Hell will slowly destroy you…" Gravity Man intoned while opening his eyes.

"Yeah! I'll make a shower of meteors bombard you!" Star Man signaled him with the right hand's finger.

"_Check it out_! Nobody underestimates the great me! Gotcha, Needle Man?" Bright Man grumbled.

"Hah! My Bowling Bomber will run you over." Bowl Man proclaimed while folding his arms.

"I get it! Leave me alone!" Needle Man cursed.

The group of five whispered something amongst them before leaving the "Cybernetics": Needle Man bit his fingers out of nervousness and didn't spot Zero spying on him again.

_Hmpf. And now the Navis are starting to lose their trust in you, Needle Man? You and Yuriko's plan was faulty from the start given how they were programmed to be paranoid and trust no-one outside of their own organization by Wily… You should've bothered to do some research of your own before setting his show up… Which is worse than a lame Choina imitation of a good series, anyway…_

"Yuriko~! What do we do~!" Needle Man yelled.

"Calm down. We send Sword Man out tomorrow to settle his score and that should calm him down a bit."

"Shah, shah, shah… Fine… Man… What a mess and it hasn't been 24 hours yet, even!"

"Patience."

"That's easy for ya to say!"

Yuriko cut the communication, Needle Man got a twitch over his right eye, and Zero chuckled under his breath…


	4. Chapter 3: Snooping around

**Chapter 3: Snooping around**

09:51 AM (Japan Time), Sunday October the 1st…

"… Man. I missed out a chance to shine yesterday. I need to shine again or else I'll end up rusty."

"Enzan – sama… The information by Zero indicates that there are still several of them left, sir."

"I knew that. But I wanted to be ahead of those guys."

"Enzan – sama… Obsession with the past generally doesn't lead to good ends, sir."

"Guess so…!"

Ijuuin Enzan was looking out into the Densan City landscape from his IPC VP office: he held a cup with coffee on his right hand and looked somewhat resigned: Blues, standing over his right shoulder, was calm and analytic.

"There's an incoming call, Enzan – sama… But I cannot ID the origin."

"Patch it through. It's gotta be one of the jokers."

"Roger, sir."

"Yo! Blues! Bearing with the extra hours that _fukukaichou – sama _has to go through?" Forte asked.

"Forte? I thought you were serious."

"Didn't ya tell that to that Laika guy, too?"

"That Laika guy… He had some weird humor, really." Enzan drily muttered as he drank some of the coffee.

"By the way… I know of someone who'll surely try to lure you two out to settle a score."

"Yeah? Who?"

"Sword Man."

"Sword Man? I know he was resurrected and all, but didn't Rock Man and Hikari beat him back then?"

"But he didn't like how ya had to run away because Blues suffered some extent of Zero Virus infection, so he's obsessed with finishing that battle from time ago." Forte told him.

"Hmmm… Perfect. I'll add one head to my list." Enzan grinned.

"No good…" Blues grimly muttered.

"No good, oh good bringer of fortune~…" Forte improvised a rhyme.

"Where's your pet, anyway?" Blues asked.

"Hunting Viruses, I'd believe."

"Blues."

"Yes, Enzan – sama?"

"We're gonna go hunt down Sword Man."

"I knew it…!"

"Hey. If he wants to come at us so badly, then we're gonna be nice guys and save him the trouble." Enzan shrugged.

"I start to believe that too much coffee has a negative effect on your behavior, Enzan – sama, sir."

"That's an urban legend!" Enzan shook it off.

"Maybe, sir."

"Ya sound like a lawyer." Forte joked.

"No way…!" Blues groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh. See ya around, D'Artagnan – sama~!"

"Oi! Wait! Forte!"

Enzan sipped some more coffee and chuckled while Blues sighed in defeat and slapped his face in defeat…

10:22 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So! This is supposed the place where someone had ended up sighting our Cerberus wannabe."

"So it'd seem, Enzan – sama."

"It ain't "seem": this is the correct place!" A pitchy voice rang out.

Enzan had stepped into an abandoned warehouse building and looked around with an amused look before the voice rang out: he quickly drew a "Synchro Chip" and kept it ready.

"Sword Man's yellow head… Are ya gonna show up or do I need to go and pull your tail?" Enzan asked with obvious sarcasm.

"How dare you!" A slightly manlier voice protested.

"The blue head… Is the red one gonna challenge me 'cause I'm red, too, or are ya gonna go and bring up the "red fever" in Red Square?" Enzan looked totally amused.

"Why, you…!" The read head growled.

Four cylinder-shaped devices with two metallic cap-shaped ends and having circuitry boards set inside of them emerged _from_ the ground, walls and ceiling using some kind of yellowish warp circle: they hummed as the circuitry inside of them sprung to life and the warehouse's colors became distorted and mixed at random: Sword Man then materialized inside of the warehouse while aiming his sword at Enzan, who looked at it with a slightly interested look.

"This time I'll delete you lowlife!"

"I wonder about that. Synchro Chip, Slot In!"

Enzan inserted the "Synchro Chip" into his Link PET and the bluish flash of energy happened as the circle expanded: the brightness forced Sword Man to bring his sword up and use it to block the light as he looked towards an angle.

"Ugh… Coming!" He cursed.

The light dimmed to reveal Enzan's "Cross Fusion" design: he had red armor over his upper torso and shoulders while his main bodysuit color was a mild blue color with tints of grey to it.

His helmet design was almost identical to Blues' but his shades were more transparent than Blues' own: the silver hair came out from behind the helmet and reached all the way to the ground.

His chest emblem was set on the middle of the armor and two white patterns climbing up towards the edges of the shoulders were drawn upon it.

His arms' skin coloring was divided in two: the upper half was colored in a gray/blackish color while the lower half was tinted mild blue.

Red armor formed over his forearms with one small wing-like formation set over the wrist: the armor around it had two round white bands reinforcing it plus a piece of bodysuit over the hand's palm which had his emblem drawn into it, too.

The rest of his bodysuit until the hips was colored in that combination of mild blue and grayish/blackish color running down the sides of it: there was a red triangle drawn over each hip before his boots began at a slightly lower spot.

An amber-colored diamond surrounded by black edges was built over the knees plus two extra white bands of armor around the knees themselves: the front edge of the boots was colored white and it had a golden rim marking the border between both colors.

"…"CF" Blues has come!" He announced.

"Hmpf! Boast while you can! Sword Press!"

Sword Man jumped into the air, and, when he was about to drop down again, he suddenly found "CF" Blues on top of him and aiming a Giga Cannon Program Advance at point-blank.

"Say "farewell", Sword Man. Giga Cannon!"

"GUO~H!"

"Done."

"No… Not yet…!"

"What!"

Sword Man was gravely injured, yet a purple-tinted "aura" surrounded his figure and seemed to have allowed him to survive.

"That "aura"…! A "Dark Chip"!" "CF" Blues gasped.

"Yeah…! You won't defeat Sword Man – sama so easily…! Once more! Sword…!"

"Slow, cheap and stubborn." Omega's voice rang out.

BLOF! PATAF! THUD! CRASH! SMASH!

"Uack! Ugh! Guah! U~h! Uga~h! Gu… Gra~h…!"

"Omega?" "CF" Blues wondered.

"Yo! _Fukukaichou – sama_~! Omega came to save the day~ and the red hero~!"

"Or, rather, to take all the glory?"

"No, no… Keep it! I just wanted to confirm if they were one the ones who ransacked a Net Police contraband storage warehouse~!"

Omega was about one meter and eighty tall.

His eyes' irises were blue and they displayed amusement while long blond hair came out from behind him and reached all the way to the floor.

A blue jewel shaped like an inverted triangle was set on the forehead of his helmet which was emitting a cross-shaped flash.

He had a red vest over his mainly black body and red armor over his forearms and boots: two golden circlets were set around his forearms and on his boots as well.

He also carried a pyramid-shaped emerald green saber weapon on his right hand which had white a trapeze base and hilt.

Sword Man had met the far wall and was half-stuck there while looking like he'd received a good beating up in just a few seconds.

"You lowlife…!" He cursed.

"Yeah? Did ya say something, Cerberus?"

"Why, you…!"

"Go back to your companions with the tail between the legs."

"SHADDUP! DIE! GREAT SWORD!"

"Slow. You're fired. Ijuuin! The final blow's yours!"

"Fine! Area Steal! Long Blade!"

"CF" Blues warped and appeared atop Sword Man: he took profit of his earlier attack to plunge his Long Blade through Sword Man: he uttered some guttural sounds before he suddenly exploded and the shockwave encompassed the room: Omega had jumped into one of the steel beams which made up the ceiling's structure and hummed the _Star Wars_ tune.

"Hmpf. I'll claim this victory." "CF" Blues told him.

"Go ahead, D'Artagnan – sama~! I'm off to bringing the elixir of eternal life~ to Clark Kent – sama~!" Omega shrugged.

"Super Man doesn't need elixir of eternal life 'cause he's immortal to begin with and is only vulnerable to kryptonite." Blues listed.

"I knew that, Buruusu~! Maybe ya wanna make sure Delta doesn't get ahead of you with his secret weapon?"

"What? They have a secret weapon, too?" "CF" Blues asked.

"All guys have it!"

"Huh? I've lost track of what you mean." Blues muttered.

"Too bad! My hint ends there 'cause _shachou_ is gonna get annoyed if he hears of this I'll be going and beware of orbiting _sputnik_s which may drop atop the office's roof with a whimper instead of a bang, Point of View!"

"Huh? Point of View?"

Omega, however, had dematerialized: the cylinder devices seemed to shut down and they "retreated" thus cancelling the "Dimensional Area" effect: "CF" Blues reverted to his normal appearance and picked up the Link PET.

"Hmmm… There go the "Dimensional Converters"… But what did Omega mean by "point of view", anyway?"

"It's a pun, sir. Vice President, in English, can be abbreviated as "VP" so he switched the letters' positions, sir." Blues explained.

"Ah. So that's what he meant. I'm gonna go have to report this to Commissioner Kifune. But now I'm one step ahead of Akashi, Laika, Forte and the other guys. Heh." Enzan grinned.

He headed outside of the building and hummed a tune as he walked away from the scene using a side-alley because the front lawn was filled with a crowd of curious who'd gathered to try to find out what had happened.

"… Maybe they were shooting a sci-fi film?"

"No way… Where are the whole team's cars, then?"

"Oh. Ya have a point…"

"It had to be a secret technology testing!"

"You and your conspiracy theories…"

One of the presents was a teen around Enzan's age: his hair was black under the cap and looked neatly combed.

He wore jeans, black boots, a sleeveless black shirt and fingerless black gloves plus a navy blue cap and sunglasses.

He carried a Link PET colored in red and bronze colors with the Alphabet letter "X" drawn upon it.

_Hmmm… This might interest our leader… Any information the "Syndicate" can gather is useful to carry out its operations… Heh, heh, heh… And one day… I'll defeat _that guy_… _

10:38 AM (Japan Time)…

"… _Check it out_! What does this mean?"

"Yeah! What's this about?"

"Unit Gravity Man demands responses."

"This reeks!"

"Shah, shah, shah! Cool it down!"

Bright Man, Star Man, Gravity Man and Bowl Man were confronting Needle Man: the four of them looked pretty annoyed.

"First Plant Man and now Sword Man! Who's gonna be next? Are you trying to use us as to keep their minds focused on just us, the ones who go out there, while you plot something?" Star Man demanded.

"Shah, shah, shah! No!"

"And you're going to say it was another "unpredictable asset" as well this time around?" Bowl Man questioned.

"Yeah! If that red guy hadn't showed out of nowhere then Sword Man could've won!"

"Why didn't you try to find out how many backup Navis they can use at the same time?" Star Man demanded.

"_Check it out_! He just wanted the glory of being the Boss!" Needle Man exclaimed as he pointed his right hand's middle finger at him.

"As expected…" Gravity Man intoned.

"From now on… WE will be the ones to decide the when and where! You go play Net Chess!" Star Man announced.

"Shah, shah, shah! Fine! Do as ya like! But if ya get deleted then it's you guys' own fault!"

"So! _There is_ a secret plan being brewed up!"

"No! There's nothing!"

"Confess!" Bowl Man commanded.

"Shaddup! Go to Hell!"

"Yeah? Then you go first!"

"Enough!"

Flash Man had come inside and he now was trying to impose some order into the mess.

"If solo Navis fight each other then we get nowhere! We'll be helping the humans because that's what they're aiming for to begin with!" Flash Man warned them.

"WHA~T?" The four of them asked.

"Yeah! I overheard that Zero jerk talking with the jerk which helped the Official Net Battle take Sword Man out!" Drill Man added as he rushed inside as well.

"Uo~h… So let's band together and smash them!" Desert Man rallied as he crawled inside of the base, too.

"I'll go out next time! And I know who my target will be, too! Hah! I'm a genius!" Beast Man exclaimed.

"Shah, shah, shah! Who?"

"Red Sword: one of the "Hunters' Guild"…! An Official Net Battler's Navi lookalike… He's the sub-leader! If we remove their command structure then we can strike and take those guys out in one attack!" Beast Man told them.

"Shah, shah, shah! Brilliant! As expected of a WWW Navi!" Needle Man complimented.

"Hah! Take this one on for a change!"

"Uo~h… His plan will be a success! Desert Man – sama tells you this, Needle Man!" Desert Man chuckled.

"Yeah! I think the same!" Flash Man laughed.

Zero was, as always, hiding nearby and spying on their conversations while keeping his arms folded.

_All that's left is digging out a bit more of info on "Yuriko" and trying to figure out their real-world location… "Secret Army"… Don't make me laugh, Needle Man! That's more like a hastily thrown together band of rogue Net Navis… You and Yuriko are really stupid! You didn't bother to do a good enough background research and try to look impressive when all you manage is to set up little ruckuses… _

"… Shah, shah, shah! Phew! They already left… Yuriko~! This is getting difficult again! But at least now they won't blame me…" Needle Man told her with obvious frustration.

"Can't be helped… My project is over 85% complete but I think I still need another week's time to complete it…" Yuriko replied.

"Shah, shah, shah! Will you tell me already what's it about?"

"No. I don't like spoilers."

"Man. Ya lack thrill!"

"This _is_ thrill."

"Fine!"

_And now you two start to quarrel over keeping secrets from each other and each one having a different view of what "thrill" is about… You two are laughable, really! You're nothing compared to the 1__st__ WWW, the "Professor", "Gospel", Nebula, the "Renegades", Neo Nebula and the "Believers" we brought down in the summer during their complot in Cyber City… I'm off. _

Zero snuck away in total silence while Needle Man was hitting the floor repeatedly with his right foot apparently out of frustration.

"Shah, shah, sha~h! They won't laugh at us! Wait and see! We're so gonna sweep the floor with you guys on it! Hmpf!"

He folded his arms and formed a grimace…


	5. Chapter 4: Secrets

**Chapter 4: Secrets**

13:33 PM (Japan Time), Monday October the 2nd…

"… Hah! Now… Who is gonna come challenge Beast Man – sama? Come out, you cowards!"

"Come at full power!"

"Who the hell?"

Beast Man had materialized in the Yoka Yoka Village Zoo using a "Dimensional Area" and was boasting before a manly voice rang out of nowhere, making him look around in confusion.

"Hra~h!"

"UACK!"

"How was that one like, Lobezno?"

"You lowlife~! Who the hell are you?"

"Name's Sigma: one of the _Three Musketeers_!"

"What!"

Beast Man's opponent, Sigma, was about two meters tall and was colored jet black: a red spheroid could be seen set on his chest area and it seemed to be missing the armor over it.

His face had two red eyes and one shone brighter than the other: two horns, one of which was almost erased, were set on both sides of his head and added a "demonic" look to him.

Green data flows moved around his body and he held a massive black and green sword in his right hand.

Overall, he seemed to be tall and imposing.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah… Wander in despair and hopelessness!" Sigma taunted Beast Man.

"You lowlife… Sending me flying with one hit…! Where's Red Sword!"

"I came on his place! It was my mission and he had another one to run, ya see, so…" Sigma grinned.

"Jumping Claw!"

Beast Man held his claws out and jumped across the air towards Sigma: he merely spun towards the right side while holding the blade's hilt with both hands: Beast Man gasped and seemed to realize what he was going to do: Sigma suddenly swung the sword towards the left and made it hit Beast Man's unprotected torso area: the hit sent him flying and he ended up falling inside of a pool containing monkeys: the monkeys shrieked and ran away en masse towards the small house-like building in the middle of the pool as Beast Man tried to focus: he'd barely been able to even stand up when Sigma landed in front of him while causing a large splash which pushed Beast Man back into the water: Sigma then gripped his head with the left hand and swung him left and right.

"How many bells can ya count?" He taunted.

"You lowlife~! Beast Ray!"

Beast Man suddenly made his head and arms dismember from his body and head towards Sigma: he shrugged and jumped over Beast Man's body: Beast Man glanced backwards and made his members join back with his body: he then tried to hit Sigma but the large sword stopped all of his attacks: Beast Man panted and tried to recover from the sudden burst: he drew a "Dark Chip" and chuckled.

"With this… I'll win!"

"Vaccine Chip! Take this!"

"GUA~H!"

Sigma suddenly cut a wound on Beast Man's upper torso using some thick needles above his knuckles: he then produced a white CD-shaped object and inserted it inside of the wound: the "Dark Chip" faded and was deleted, to Beast Man's surprise.

"Heh! We developed a vaccine to "Dark Chips" time ago!" Sigma grinned.

"Why, you…!"

"Bite me."

"DIE~!"

"_Bye – bye_."

"Crap!"

"Hra~h!"

"U… UGA~H! Glory to… the WWW…! Gruh… Grua~h!"

Sigma had taunted Beast Man and he'd jumped across the air towards Sigma: the black giant only had to aim his blade forward and it pierced through Beast Man's body: he uttered something before he blew up, thus further exciting the monkeys.

"Sorry, guys! Later!"

Sigma dematerialized but didn't spot the teen of the other day looking on from some distance using a pair of binoculars: he looked calm and analytical.

"Hmpf. After a blonde red-armored man a black giant with a demonic appearance shows up… Who designs such weird Net Navis, anyway? One thing is clear: their battle potential is very high. Master will be interested on cataloguing all of them just in case. We won't be so idiotic like them: we will make our research and know the odds beforehand. Don't you think so, _aibou_?" The teen muttered aloud.

"Yeah… I wouldn't like to face against the red guy: I've heard talks that he's faster than lighting and can trap you in a deadly combo of sword attacks if you lower your guard even for a second…" A Net Navi's voice replied.

"Hmpf. Then we'll come up with something. No – one's invincible, after all! I should go back before someone takes notice of me." The teen shrugged.

He lowered the binoculars and formed a smug smile…

13:45 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Shah, shah, shah! Now don't blame me: he decided to go out alone and fell into a trap!"

"We won't question that."

"Uo~h… True…"

"Hmpf. So! Who's next?"

"Unit Gravity Man will trap enemies in a gravitational Hell…"

"_Check it out_! Star Man! Can't ya think of something?"

"Hmmm… I have a vague idea… We could send a giant Virus instead to frustrate them so that they don't take us too seriously next time around and get owned."

"Hah, hah! Brilliant!"

Needle Man was talking with the remaining Net Navis: Flash Man didn't seem to care, Desert Man shrugged, Drill Man glanced around, Gravity Man volunteered, Bright Man talked with Star Man, he began to think aloud and Bowl Man grinned.

"Shah, shah, shah! Good! Gravity Man is gonna bring them trouble for sure: just wait and see!" Needle Man proclaimed.

"Huh! Who…?" Drill Man gasped.

They all turned around and looked towards the south but they didn't spot anything out of normal.

"Weird… I thought I saw a red figure…" Drill Man muttered.

"You think too much." Flash Man shrugged.

"Uo~h… Let us think of what needs to be done next!"

"Heh, heh, heh. This is gonna get fun!" Star Man giggled.

However, they failed to notice Zero observing from the NNW corner and shrugging…

13:52 PM (Japan Time)…

"… What? That guy wanted to fight me?"

"Yeah! But I saved ya the trouble."

"Hmpf. Whatever."

Sigma was talking with a Net Navi in one spot of the Official Square as other Net Navis and Program – kun walked up and down across it.

The Navi appeared to be over a meter and sixty tall: he had a wild flock of silver hair which came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.

His helmet's main color was blood red as well, yet the inner edges surrounding his thick red shades had a tint of purple to them: a purple band formed on the forehead and circled the whole diameter of it: two valley-shaped cavities had been inserted into the sides of it and they ended in golden circles: a "fin" sprouted from the top of the helmet thus giving it a menacing-like look.

His main "skin" color was black, yet his upper torso had red blood armor built over it: there were two black shapes drawn over the shoulders having a golden rim and a thin black line spread from the base of the neck to the lower edge of the armor.

An emblem with a black edge was set on the chest: it consisted of white and black halves split by a thunderbolt-shaped line: white was golden and silver was right.

The forearms were colored blood red and had two purple-colored parallel formations which originated at the sides of the emblem atop each hand's palm: they spread over the edge of the forearm while forming a pyramid-like shape.

His right forearm currently held a purple-colored Long Sword with a customized hilt.

The central body of the forearm was now colored metallic gray and had two purple circles colored yellow inside.

A purplish-colored blade emerged around a cone-shaped purple-colored formation: the blade looked sharp and menacing for some reason or another.

His boots began slightly below the knee and had purple-colored diamond-like shapes which extended as high as the knee: they were colored blood red as well: the soils were colored purple, too.

"Heh, heh, heh. Hit a spot?" Sigma teased.

"Hmpf. No. And I couldn't care less for those jerks: we already gave them a lesson in Alaska."

"Red Sword: ya are a cool guy! Ya could go and round up 11 thugs in one day!" Sigma laughed.

"Hmpf. Maybe." Red Sword replied.

"Well then… I'm off to reporting."

"Yo! Red! What's up, man?"

"Blizzard Man… Where are the others?"

"On their way!"

"Fine."

"Hah! You beat the great me to the square today but next time I'll beat you, Blizzard!"

"Cloud Man… Do you really need to bring up this competition mania the whole time?"

"It's his style."

"Sure thing, Cosmo Man."

"Wha~t?"

"Oh. Be quiet. If Delta – dono comes and see us discussing, then what will he think? That we "Darkloids" are silly?"

"Well…"

Three newcomers made it to the Official Square: the three of them looked like custom Net Navis.

"Blizzard Man – sama is gonna ski down the Alps!"

Blizzard Man didn't seem to be much taller than a meter and fifty.

His eyes' irises were red as well and he had two red ear pads: a ski cap was being worn atop his head and it had a blue band slightly above the forehead: the rest of it was colored orange and some loose cotton could be seen atop his head.

His shoulders were colored sea blue and his forearms had an orange rim at their start: his hands were covered in the classical white "skin" as well and held two ski sticks with an orange handle.

His upper body was colored orange until slightly beneath the chest emblem: there it formed a pattern reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "M" and colored sea blue: his lower body was colored white.

His chest emblem had a red rim and the drawing a white-colored snowman's silhouette without nose, mouth or eyes.

The rest of the emblem was colored black and so were his arms and legs.

His main body was round and both his arms and legs were short: he had green skies attached to his blue ski boots' soils.

"Cloud Man – sama is going to bring omens to those grunts!"

Cloud Man's lower body was a grayish cloud and he had no legs: his upper body had a mix of magenta and orange coloring.

His head had an orange helmet with the Alphabet letter "U" set on its forehead plus a spike having a small gray cloud over it: the helmet created a shade-like effect around his eyes, the irises of which were blood red as well: the rest of his face was gray in color.

His shoulders and forearms were colored orange while the skin was black in coloring.

A magenta ring was set slightly above each wrist, too.

Two small wing-like objects with three indentations on it and colored white emerged from the sides of his shoulders.

An arrow-like object was set over the hand and the forearms: its border was colored white.

His torso had three white stripes below the chest which only occupied about the center section of it: his emblem was set slightly beneath them and it depicted a single cloud set against a blackish background and having a white rim.

He had an open vest-like drawing over the sides of his torso which began above the shoulders and reached past the lower torso where his emblem was at: the vest's border was colored in a goldenrod color.

Each side also had a cloud-shaped drawing slightly above where the three stripes began at: two button-like drawings were set between his neck opening and the stripes.

"Heh, heh, heh. Cosmo Man has come."

Cosmo Man looked close to two meters tall: his eyes were simply black and surrounded by skin while his nose and mouth were covered by a thin layer of golden armor.

Four lines converged on the forehead where a small diamond was set: the head's upper portion was exposed and it had the typical black "skin".

The upper torso was encompassed by golden-colored armor which also covered the shoulders: it ended around the chest where the emblem was set at: it was a four-pointed blue star drawn against a black background.

The design of the armor included two thick white lines emerging NW and NE from his emblem and curving as they ran parallel to the neck and past the shoulders: another two thin blue lines formed from the east and west sides of the emblem and climbed upwards.

The armor was then divided into two uneven portions: the lower one was short in length while the upper one was larger.

The armor also covered both sides of the neck.

It continued above the head where it expanded into two ear-like extensions having blue round dome-like pads.

The arms had a blue ring around the elbow and each ring was complemented by fin-shaped extensions aiming upwards towards the shoulders.

A pale blue transparent ring was also set atop each wrist and the wrists had blue armor covering them: the fingers were also covered by the armor.

The plain black-skinned feet (the fingers of which couldn't be seen) had blue armor on their ankles as well and a golden-colored diamond-like object set slightly above the ankle: this object had a blue-colored triangle-like pattern aiming upwards set slightly above of where they began at.

Two thick white lines extended from above the end of those diamonds and travelled towards the lower torso area until they met an oval-shaped object with a brown edge and metallic interior: two small rectangles were drawn on the north and south edges, too.

Another two thick lines came out from the NW and NE edges and met the chest emblem by connecting the SW and SE edges, too.

A large blue transparent ring circled his body in a 45º angle: it aimed to the SE from the same height as the right shoulder until the left forearm.

"The "Hunters' Guild" has assembled!"

"Hmpf. Yeah. Now let's go hunt some grunts."

The group didn't repair on a Navi wearing a worn out blackish cape plus a hood observing them from a higher spot.

"The "Hunter's Guild"… But it'd seem they're missing the leader: we should try to identify them. We know their name is "Delta" so it shouldn't be hard to trace them." The Navi whispered.

"O. K… I'm itching for some real trigger action already but I can't go and do something outta boredom without permit. Let's go back and work in our simulations… Heh, heh, heh. If only they knew… Heh, heh, heh!"

14:29 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alas, Mr. Vadous, sir… Mr. Meijin hadn't had contact with the target for over half a year and didn't know about her whereabouts or any family name, yet we've positively managed to ID her…"

"I see… Have you sent the dragonfly over there?"

"We have, sir. Do call us when you need live feed, sir."

"Delighted, Mr. Denpa. Later."

"Later, sir."

Vadous (wearing metallic body armor with purple patterns on it and a ragger black cape) pressed a button on a cell phone's keyboard and then stretched as he leant backwards on a black armored armchair in which he was sitting: a control console filled with several LEDs, switches, indicators, read-outs, buttons, a keyboard and a mouse pad: a large part of the room was unlit save for the glow of three big LCD screens built over the console.

"Hmmm… Yuriko seems to be working on some kind of program the nature of which we don't know yet and the Net Navis are starting to cool off and organize… Star Man and Flash Man seem to be the most cool-headed guys in each group… Nothing good can come out of that. But we've got the collaboration of _that person_: I wonder how they will react when they know…" Vadous muttered aloud.

"The Zombie Club strikes back through Evening's Door: expect 16 hours of non-stop troll emails!" Omega's voice rang out.

"OMEGA! Go beat down the Dream Virus in the VR Simulator if you're bored but stop pestering around here!" He grumbled.

"Sure, Officer Motti!"

"Stop with the Imperial Navy names: do something useful!"

"I'm a double-edged sword!"

Vadous rolled his eyes, tapped the armrests with impatience, and grumbled something under his breath…


	6. Chapter 5: Hidden agendas

**Chapter 5: Hidden agendas**

08:08 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday October the 3rd…

"… Destroy. Destroy. Destroy."

"Kya~h!"

"Run!"

"Somebody save us!"

"Help!"

"Run for it!"

"Escape is futile."

"I wonder about that."

"Enemy presence confirmed…"

"Name's Blood Shadow, ugly."

Gravity Man had showed up on one train station and began to ram into columns, stands and machines to destroy them as the public fled in fear: someone called out to him and he turned around while opening his eyes and looking amused.

"This name does not figure in the Net Savior database: who the hell are you?"

"One of the _Three Musketeers_! Ya saw Sir Omega helping take Sword Man down and the one who beat Beast Man yesterday was Sigma. I'm Blood Shadow: and I'm gonna take you down, too."

"Boast while you can. Gravity Hold!"

"Is that all?"

"Hmpf."

"What? Oh! Crap!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Gravity Hold can hit from any angle…"

Gravity Man's opponent, Blood Shadow, looked about the same height as Rock Man or Delta: his main color of choice was red.

He sported black shades: a flock of messy reddish hair came out from behind the helmet given how it only covered the face and the front of the head: his ear-pads had two purple "V" letters drawn inside of them.

His armor had the purple letters "BS" engraved on the chest area while his legs were colored black and had two red stripes running down the legs' sides in a parallel manner.

His right forearm was covered by a device colored red coupled with a piece of it which was colored transparent red: a small indentation near the wrist had the same "BS" initials engraved there: and, where the hand would be, a large double-barreled shotgun emerged instead.

He had to jump towards the right to avoid a blackish spheroid of energy heading towards him from the rear: Gravity Man suddenly hovered towards him.

"Gravity Drive."

"Uack!"

Gravity Man aimed his arms downwards and created a gravitational force which glued Blood Shadow into the ground: he then aimed upwards and Blood Shadow was sent to crash against the ceiling: he was brought down and up again.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh... Escaping from this gravitational Hell is impossible." Gravity Man chuckled.

"C-crap…! If only I could come close enough… My shotgun would make mincemeat of the guy…! Sigma! Come gimme a hand!"

"Useless. Unit has jammed all radio signals."

"W-why, you…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Delete. Delete. Delete."

"Hmpf! The one to be deleted will be… you!" A voice rang out.

"Who the…?"

"Shadow Blade!"

"Gua~h!"

"Who…? Shadow Man…? Wrong…! That form…! Dark Miyabi…! Cross Fusion Shadow Man…!" Blood Shadow gasped.

"CF" Miyabi had showed up from behind Gravity Man and attacked him thus allowing Blood Shadow to break free.

"Whoa. Cool design…" Blood Shadow muttered.

The "Cross Fusion" design for "CF" Miyabi added a new layer of white armor over the upper torso and the shoulders and edited his shoulders to add two small wing-shaped extensions to them.

The helmet design kept on being the same yet the base of his neck had red armor over its surface.

The rest of his body was colored purple yet he had a thin belt circling his waist and the sides of his legs had black patches delimited by white edges drawn on them: the feet design hadn't changed.

The armor over his forearms was rather similar to Shadow Man's own forearms design with the exception of some purple spots over their surface.

He now carried two _katana_ sheaths attached to his back.

"Calling on Dark Miyabi." He coolly announced.

"Why, you…! Shadow Man! Bothersome traitor! Bothersome dog! Why, you…!" Gravity Man sounded annoyed by now.

"Traitor? Are you lowlife deaf? I was a mercenary. I never swore loyalty to anyone. Thus I didn't betray you lowlifes: my contract changed." Shadow Man's voice rang out.

"Delete! Delete! Delete! Gravity…!"

"Now! Blood Shadow!"

"Roger! Charged shotgun shot!"

"UA~H!"

"How's that one like, robot?"

Blood Shadow had jumped atop Gravity Man and shot a zero-range shot into his upper body: a wound opened there and Gravity Man howled something before Blood Shadow jumped back into the ground and "CF" Miyabi drew both _katana_.

"Get ready! Hra~h!"

"GU… GUA~H!"

"CF" Miyabi managed to slice Gravity Man in three and he roared before he blew up: "CF" Miyabi landed back and stored up both _katana_.

"When did you get a "Synchro Chip", Dark Miyabi?"

"August. Commissioner Kifune requested of me, so I accepted it. Remember: I no longer accept any contracts and I am an agent of the Net Police but some circles don't know it yet."

"I get the point."

"Good enough… And tell Hikari that I haven't found any suspects aiming for his or Rock Man's heads. The rumor that he's a Net Savior has been a good tool to keep those guys at bay because they wouldn't want to have the whole of the Net Police looming over them."

"Phew! Boss will be glad: he sometimes had trouble sleeping when he thinks about that stuff and is on need of some confirmation that no crazy guys are aiming for Rock Man…" Blood Shadow sighed in relief.

"Well then… I'll be heading back. Farewell!"

Blood Shadow shook some dust off his body: he didn't spot the teen looking from behind a destroyed kiosk: he was taking photos of him using the Link PET and he snuck out just as Blood Shadow looked there.

"… My imagination…? Anyway… I gotta go back to the HQ…"

08:17 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Shah, shah, shah! So! What happened?"

"Shadow Man! He went and helped that shotgun guy finish Gravity Man off!"

"What! THE Shadow Man did that?"

"Hmpf. Someone has placed a bounty on us, then…"

"_Check it out_! Why didn't ya say that earlier?"

"I didn't think of it."

"Hmpf. Obviously!"

"Uo~h… What are we going to do, then?"

Needle Man, Star Man, Drill Man, Flash Man, Bright Man, Bowl Man and Desert Man had gathered to discuss without spotting Zero or the figure cloaked in black.

"Shah, shah, shah! Decide it yourselves!" Needle Man told them.

"Uo~h… I'll be next! I'll summon a desert stage and trap them into quick-sands…" Desert Man chuckled.

"Nyah, hah, hah! _Check it out_! Good idea! Show 'em what stuff ya are made of! _Danna_! Nyah, hah, hah, ha~h!" Bright Man encouraged.

"That laughter is about to drive me insane." Star Man grimly muttered while looking resigned.

"Hmpf! One day I'll smash the eyesore Net Saviors!"

"Smash…? With the bowling ball…? My. I just had a little idea! Thanks for the suggestion, Bowl Man." Star Man grinned.

_That sounds BAD. We gotta be careful of Bowl Man: he's capable of trying to deliver a blow with a bowling ball and… Huh? There's something else spying on them over there…? Hmpf. They fled… Well then… I'll go report, too, but that figure is picking me…_

8:25 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Any news, Delta?"

"Yeah. Blood Shadow and Dark Miyabi, Shadow Man's Operator, took down a guy named Gravity Man…"

"Gravity Man? He worked for the "Professor" and was annoying enough to make my brain boil back then."

"That's because we needed an actual strategy, Netto – kun…"

"Hah! Dekao – sama and Guts Man – sama could've beaten that guy in less than 30 seconds!"

"Guts, guts!"

"Doubt it."

"Yeah. Really doubt it."

"Like Meiru – chan says… Dekao – kun. Boasting is not good."

"Correct, desu!"

"Cha need a hit on the head with my hammer."

"Yaito – sama…"

Hiro, Netto, Saito, Ooyama Dekao, Sakurai Meiru, Hikawa Tooru and Ayanokouji Yaito were chatting as they headed for their middle school institute: everyone had the mandatory uniform on and carried their backpacks: their Navis were also chatting.

"Why am I always being looked down?" Dekao growled with obvious frustration.

"'Cause ya boast." Yaito shrugged.

"Yeah! You barely passed the "A" License exam and your battle skills are ridiculous: you just throw everything at random without thinking on how to take advantage of the situation." Meiru added.

"True, true!" The other three muttered.

"Man."

"Guts, guts…"

"Go invent the French – Gorilla Idiom dictionary, Gorilla Man!" Roll directed a smug smile at him.

"Scary, desu…" Ice Man muttered.

"Yeah… Scary…" Delta agreed on it.

"Truly scary…" Glyde muttered as well.

"Yo! Wanna shake and rumble 'till the humble cook of wisdom patents "Napolitano Curry", you guys?" Omega suddenly joked as he showed up inside of Netto's empty Link PET.

"Omega? Did something happen?" Netto asked.

"Nope, Wedge Antilles." Omega grinned.

"Wasn't that the Rebel pilot who survived both Death Star runs and was a good friend of Luke?" Hiro asked with a smile.

"Correct, Mr. Plaza."

"Plaza?"

"Hiroba."

"Oi. The _kanji_'s different."

"Who knows?"

"Ya do!"

"Ms. Moon does."

"Not that again…!" Delta grumbled.

"Maybe ya prefer _majin _Gufuu to Ms. Moon?"

"Demon God Gufuu? No, thanks. I'd rather have a Stalfos."

"Heh, heh, heh… Catching up, eh?"

"Sure thing."

"Sure thing, Gial Ackbar."

"Omega…! You're bothering people when they're about to start their class?" Vadous suddenly questioned.

"Mr. Early bird showed up."

"I'm so eager to lock you in the capsule for one month and try to clamp down those stupid humor files!" Vadous hissed.

"Before that ya will need to scold Bevel Lemelisk."

"Who?"

"The architect who worked on the Death Star's plans and who then was treated to a living Hell by Palpatine…" Omega chuckled.

"Stop with the _Star Wars _jokes already: go broom your room!"

"O. K.! I'll pick the 4:44 PM express to Yorkshire. See ya around and don't forget to show off your secret weapons, Akashi."

Hiro rolled his eyes while Delta grumbled as Omega disappeared from inside of the Link PET: Netto looked amused and Saito was not amused in the least.

"Omega – san's humor is lame."

"Yeah… And I regret that deeply: I should've kept his serious personality like Dark Miyabi's…" Vadous sighed.

"That'd been wise, really, sir." Delta nodded in agreement.

"I'll leave you guys to focus. We'll be continuing investigations into the next moves those guys make. Later."

"Later."

Netto switched off the Link PET while Saito did the same after checking the vulgar automated orange-armor-holding Net Navi inside.

_Another day begins…_

08:54 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So? What do you know insofar, young one?"

"The man behind those _Three Musketeers_ answers to the name of "Vadous" but it rather sounds like an ironic nickname, sir."

"Why?"

"Eh… Well… Darth Vader and Darth Sidious, so…"

"Ah. Ah. I see the why now. It has to be that."

"One more thing: Dark Miyabi, the Operator of Shadow Man, seems to have been in league with the Net Police for some time and acting as a double agent in some circles."

"What! You did well on finding that out, DS_002… I was about to use his services to remove an eyesore man from the way but it'd seem I'll have to find someone else…"

"The Net Navi known as "Zero", source of the "Zero Virus", is into this, too, plus the "Hunter's Guild"… They've mentioned someone named "S" once or twice…"

"S? The Reverse King…? Hum. This could get complicated, really. His power is no joke…"

"Oh. The solo Navi, Forte, has also made an appearance, along with a dog-shaped program named "Gospel Jr.", too…"

"This is turning murkier… We'll have to limit Cyber World transit, usage and exchange of data over it drastically… We'll need to go back to the protocol of physically carrying the data from spot to spot…"

The mysterious teen, "DS_002", was speaking with someone over a phone boot's phone and looking calm: the other voice had a slight foreign accent and sounded concerned.

"What should I do, sir?"

"Return to the HQ ASAP."

"Roger, sir."

"Try to avoid main avenues. A youngster without a backpack on at this hour will raise attention since most youngsters are now about to start classes… Be careful." The man commanded.

"Roger, DS_001, sir."

"Over."

DS_002 replaced the receiver on its place and quickly ran out of the cabin and into some back-streets while checking his Link PET and also making sure no – one was following him.

"You heard Master: we need to compile all of the data and figure out the weak points we can exploit to sneak our operations past them." He commanded to his unidentified Navi.

"Roger."

He did not, however, spot a man hidden close by: the observer looked on his late 50s or early 60s: he had a refined-looking moustache and grayish hair which reached until the base of the neck.

He sported smoked sunglasses over his eyes.

He wore an open brown coat which reached until the knees: he then wore a brown trench suit with two black adjustable bands colored clear brown: he had a black shirt under it plus a necktie.

He also wore black fingerless gloves with an open square over the hand.

His pants were clear brown and his shoes were simply brown.

The man was holding a cigar on the right hand which was still smoking and mumbling something under his breath before looking up from the ground and towards the direction the teen had gone through.

"Hmmm… That young one seems to be part of another party… That can wait until this little "Secret Army" is brought down… Mr. Denpa tells you guys that your secretive style is in vain. Heh, heh, heh… Wait and see… He who laughs last laughs better… Our beloved beasts! Enjoy yourselves…"


	7. Chapter 6: Disbanding

**Chapter 6: Disbanding**

18:08 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday October the 4th…

"… O. K.! I get called here so there's a trap like in the elevator going down from the Communication Tower B: I'd never guessed there were four soldiers with stealth camouflage inside! Heh, heh, heh!"

"Yeah, yeah… Can we focus on the mission?"

"Did ya bring a focus, then?"

"Very funny."

"I like that dry face of ya which makes ya look like a bored bureaucrat sitting on his office."

"Hiro – kun!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Did ya say something, Watson Jr.?"

"I give up."

"Hah! Experience fear and chaos: Drill Man – sama has come! I'll turn you lowlifes into dust!"

"Ya don't look way more intimidating than REX, mind ya."

"REX? _Tyrannosaurus rex_?"

"Hiro – kun… You can't expect a grunt to know what "Metal Gear" means to begin with…"

"Heh, heh! I'm a genius, ya see."

"Hah! Boast while you can."

"O. K.! Let's go sting-style, then, Delta! Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"

"Come!"

"Coming from the NNE is an Alaskan wind which carries doom along it, did ya know that?"

Hiro had been joking to Delta before Drill Man showed up in the midst of a half-built office building structure: Hiro grinned and drew his "Synchro Chip" before performing "Cross Fusion" and face Drill Man.

"Hmpf! I'm gonna delete you lowlife! Tunnel Crusher!"

Drill Man suddenly enclosed his upper body and the legs inside of drills while leaving his arms sticking out: he jumped into the air and then headed towards "CF" Hiro, who was rummaging inside of a container while humming a tune: he calmly looked up and chuckled.

"A bee is gonna sting ya."

"Wha~t?" Drill Man growled.

"Take this!"

"What? GUA~H!"

"Heh, heh! If Snake could take down Liquid's Hind D with this and Raiden could hit Solidus' Harrier 2 then I can pierce through this guy's unprotected spot and inflict damage… This is the "STINGER" missile launcher: Mr. This - ain't –a - drill!"

"CF" Hiro had drawn a "STINGER" missile launcher from the box and it was smoking while Drill Man had collapsed into the ground back into his normal form yet a large hole could be seen on the waist segment which had been hit by the missile: he was groaning and cursing.

"No way…! The great me… a WWW Net Navi… being beaten down… by a brat…? Impossible…! YOU LOWLIFE~! Dark Chip!"

"Ops. Time to call the medic: ya need an injection of anti-freezing peptide if ya wanna survive in Shadow Moses' Alaskan winter! Vaccine Chip Program: Fire!"

"Guo~h!"

"CF" Hiro grabbed the "STINGER" with his left hand and then drew a copy of the Rock Buster: he shot a white spheroid from it which impacted Drill Man as he tried to pierce through him using his arms.

"Willard Whyte says ya are fired, Mr. Drill instructor!"

"Why, you…! Huh…? Ugh… Uh… Guh… Guo~h!"

"How foolish, human."

"Who the heck?"

Drill Man had been cursing as he could barely remain standing on his knees when a bluish-colored flame popped out of nowhere and integrated with his body: Drill Man roared and his whole body coloring became purple before a manly voice rang out through him: Drill Man's eyes were mere red stains by now and something gave off a weird vibe.

"What the… It sounds like a puppet!" "CF" Hiro exclaimed.

"Hmpf. It would seem you do not remember me. Were you not afraid of my power?" The voice asked.

"Afraid of…? Nebula Grey?" "CF" Hiro gasped.

"Correct! I am Nebula Grey: the incarnation of "evil" itself! That foolish scientist thought I was no more than a tool but he actually unleashed the gates of Hell. Any attempts to destroy me are in vain: I have several copies of my own core program scattered around this planet." Nebula Grey announced in a sinister voice.

"But ya can't possess me: I did install antibodies to your power in this body, too!"

"I have no need to, former soldier. I will merely make sure to make you lowlifes remember that if these foolish Net Navis banded together is because I indirectly guided them. They are so foolish as to believe that my own power will allow them to triumph. I laugh at it!"

"Crap. And even if we beat these guys… Ya will find out a way to keep us busy again even if ya have to wait half a decade, right?"

"Correct, human! Even if you lowlifes become mere dust after the passage of Time, I shall find others who shall try to uphold the "Light" and that which you lowlifes name "peace" and "justice"… Such is human nature."

"What do we do, Hiro – kun?" Delta nervously asked in a hushed tone.

"Not like we can do much…"

"Oh… True…"

"Hmpf. My mere presence stirs up the fear… The fear which shall always haunt you… The fear of what you lowlifes were and did… Let there be fear and chaos! They shall feed me power. I am the Demon God Nebula Grey: I shall overcome Time-Space and my power shall stir up humanity until this planet is decimated or humanity is. But that shall not matter because I can always expand my power throughout this never-ending always-expanding "Universe"… Farewell!"

A monster-like roar rang out before the flame flew out of Drill Man's body and he recovered his normal coloring: he was already starting to turn into stone and muttering something.

"Glory… to the… WWW…!"

He became stone and then blew up: the explosion sent "CF" Hiro flying across the space and ended up crashing against a debris container: he grumbled something and jumped off while trying to shake the dust off him: the "Dimensional Area" vanished and his "Cross Fusion" was released so he picked the Link PET up.

"Nebula Grey… We'd forgotten about the jerk… And he bothered to come all the way out here to remind us…" Hiro grumbled.

"Yeah… We should tell Vadous – san about this… Rock Man did tell me he was concerned about this…" Delta suggested.

"I will take care of that." A voice told them.

"Whoa! Liquid!"

"Forgotten me?"

"Whoops! Sorry, Denpa – san! I always forget that you're an _MGS_ series fan, too…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Anyway… I have some information."

The man on his 60s from the other day had stepped into the place while looking amused: Hiro gasped at first but then slapped his forehead as if cursing that he always committed the same mistake: Delta formed a smug smile upon seeing it, too.

"Yeah? We know something about the leader, Denpa - san?"

"Curiously enough, our _femme fatale _was employed by Nebula… The original Nebula… She was in charge of some sabotage tasks as well as securing insiders with some bribes… She disappeared off the radar after the dismantling of Nebula and it'd seem Dr. Regal had been trying to get into touch with her again yet he was unable to. It's possible that she saved up money and headed elsewhere to lay low until she got the idea of gathering these Net Navis… She also seems to be working on something which not even Needle Man knows what's about… We'll soon initiate a more closed surveillance with one of our dragonflies." The man calmly detailed.

"Interesting… By the way: Hikari – kun did mention that he and his brother suspected her of being Oozono Mariko – sensei's little sister and that she'd been a teacher herself." Delta brought up.

"Confirmed. We ran a comparison of the most recent photo of her with our photos: the matching was over 95%."

"Weird… Why would a school teacher behave like that?"

"It'd seem the school teacher thing was an attempt to hide from the WWW after she abandoned them."

"Ah… Now I see."

"There seems to be another party interested in what goes on, though. I saw an enigmatic young man who our agents had spotted in all of the incidents' scenes including the one with Plant Man… We've been unable to ID him yet, though. But I rather think he's just a slab of a bigger party which is making a better background research than the "Secret Army" Net Navis…"

"Hmmm… Curious…" Delta looked curious.

"Obviously. We're running an investigation already: given how we only need one or two operators to check on Yuriko and Colonel Talos is also in charge of it, we can allocate some resources… I'll let out that my own belief is that they are a Yakuza cell we'd been investigating for some time already…" Mr. Denpa added with a hint of amusement.

He suddenly drew a SAA Revolver and shot one bullet towards a small cargo platform with a sand-filled sack loaded on it: the bullet opened a gash on the sack and sand began to pour down behind some beams piled in a corner: someone yelled and the mysterious teen ran out at a mad speed while trying to shake the sand off his hair and cursing something under his breath: Mr. Denpa toyed with the SAA Revolver for some seconds before pocketing it and shrugging.

"A wayward soul: I showed him the way back to his house." He calmly announced.

Hiro burst into laughter while Delta looked surprised: Mr. Denpa hummed a tune and took out a PDA which he began to interact with.

"Ah… Like I thought… Our beloved little monsters are about to get at each others' necks by now… It'd seem Demon God – sama likes internal strife as well…" He chuckled.

"… Oi! Needle Man! Why didn't ya tell us there was a program capable of nullifying "Dark Chips" and that human weapons could be recreated? Or ya didn't bother to make the necessary background research?" Star Man could be heard questioning.

"Shah, shah, shah! T-that's…!"

"Hum! I'll use my bowling bomber to blow you up!" Bowl Man threatened as well.

"Hmpf! Like I thought." Flash Man sounded unimpressed.

"Uo~h… You lowlife… Degrading us to being mere pawns…!" Desert Man growled in clear annoyance.

"_Check it out_! I'm so gonna strangle the guy!" Bright Man hissed.

"C-calm down! EH… I didn't do the research 'cause I was confident that "Dark Chips" couldn't be countered!"

"If you'd bothered to check on the "Hunters' Guild", you'd known that they used to be "Darkloids": Net Navis using "Dark Power" and receiving no negative effects from the "Dark Chips": but their leader, Delta, was able to come up with antibody programs to purge that power outta their bodies: they must've used those as basis to create these "Vaccine Chip" programs! Gotcha?" Star Man exposed.

"Shah, shah, shah! Grfjtx! If ya guys feel so confident then go out at the same time and come up with some plan on you guys' own! There!" Needle Man cursed aloud.

"Hmpf. Fine. Let's go, Desert Man. I'm wasting my time and energies with this fool." Flash Man told him.

"Uo~h… I shall condemn you lowlife to wander across a desert eternally one day…! Remember this!" Desert Man threatened.

"Come on, Bowl Man, Bright Man! Let's go plan: I'm sure than I can come up with a plan a 100 times better than this ex-gardener." Star Man told them.

"Fine!"

"_Check it out_! Let's thrill!"

"Shah, shah, shah! Who are ya calling an "ex-gardener", punk?" Needle Man sounded like he'd gotten annoyed.

"Ya! Ya are the ex-gardener."

"Why, you…!"

There were some sounds followed by a large yell of frustration and anger over the PDA: Hiro looked amused, Delta had lifted his eyebrows and Mr. Denpa chuckled.

"Yuriko~!"

"What?"

"Didn't ya see or hear anything?" Needle Man questioned.

"No. I was busy with the project. It should be ready by the weekend at this rate. Who are you going to send out next?" She distractedly replied.

"No – one!" Needle Man shot back.

"What do you mean, "no – one"?" Yuriko sounded annoyed.

"They've left!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" She gasped.

"Ya heard me! Gone! Left! Ditched! Resigned! Deserted! Defected! Pick whatever name suits ya: the "Secret Army" is no more!"

"How could let them go away just like that?" She demanded.

"The Net Police have "vaccine" programs; they can emulate missile launchers and can defeat us without much trouble! They were able to beat all of the guys we've sent out there without much trouble because there always was someone we didn't take into account! Your rush to try to "go down in villain history" without bothering to make a detailed background research has ruined us… Yuriko!" He told her.

"Lovely! And what do we do now?" She grumbled.

"Figure that yourself! I'm staying, but things will become uglier from now on! The Net Police won't have any trouble sending a platoon of Police Navis to arrest me, either!" Needle Man cursed.

"Crap."

"Starting to catch up?" Needle Man growled.

"Shaddup." She fumed.

"Hmpf! Fine!"

"Enough…"

Mr. Denpa stored the PDA and shrugged while Hiro kept on laughing and Delta looked amused at the outcome…

18:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Yo! _Shachou_! Are ya gonna reach into Reach?"

"Very funny."

"So? How many did ya behead?"

"Spartans don't behead enemies."

"Huh? But ya can pick the energy swords, right?"

"I can. But the game isn't programmed to show beheading."

"What the… That'd been cool!"

"Do you have anything useful to tell me or did you burst in just to troll me when I'm playing _Halo: Reach_ with my XBOX360?"

"Liquid called."

"Who?"

"Liquid Ocelot."

"Ah. Mr. Denpa."

Vadous had been sitting in a chair next to a bed inside of a modest-sized metallic room with one door on the SE corner from which Omega was popping his head into the room: an LCD TV had been screwed into the wall plus an XBOX360 which Vadous was using to play.

The room contained a small cubicle which seemed to be the bathroom plus a cupboard and a small table: it looked rather _Spartan_ in accommodation.

"How curious! The room is rather _Spartan_ and ya are playing with a _Spartan – III_!" Omega grinned.

"I get the irony. So?"

"The surviving five guys ditched Needle Man. The "Secret Army" is no – more both in name and essence. Essence of lime, obviously enough! Heh, heh, heh, heh!"

"Hah, hah. Very original." He drily replied.

"As original as the Trafalgar Street in Barcelona and the Trafalgar Square in London? Copycat!" Omega laughed.

"So?"

"Nebbie showed his hide around to remind us that Mr. Trouble is gonna be knocking at our door sooner or later, too." Omega grinned.

"Nebbie? Ah. Nebula Grey… I expected the thing to."

"To look at a mirror and faint upon seeing its ugliness?"

"I dunno where ya dug that one out from but it's lame."

"Ya never know: maybe telling a monster ya were a buddy of the _Beatles_ will be enough to handle the thing, too."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. Who makes those jokes to begin with?"

"Ask _Don_ Francisco Ibañez! See ya, reaching reach of reaches!"

Omega closed the door and ran off while giggling: Vadous looked totally unimpressed by now.

"Hmpf. Whatever… You don't scare me, Nebula Grey. It might take effort to solve another crisis, but I don't care. Things aren't easy in life to begin with, so…" He shrugged.

He resumed playing the game and concentrated on it as his mood switched and began to look amused.

"Game-play is intense! But that should've been expected: I've played all of the previous games including the RPG _Halo Wars_… The general story of the series is well-established but will obviously update with time… I got lucky since I reserved this and could get my hands on it just six days ago: I'm sure it'll be another success!" He commented aloud.

_Nebula Grey! Whatever you try to come up with is pointless to begin with: go make a speech to penguins in the South Pole! Heh, heh, heh!"_


	8. Chapter 7: They go down so easily

**Chapter 7: They go down so easily**

02:02 AM (Japan Time), Thursday October the 5th…

"… Mwa, hah, hah, ha~h! It was brilliant to strike the Science Labs at this hour: there's almost no – one plus security is weak… Humans! Feel fear and chaos: Desert Man – sama will find out if you lowlifes hold information beneficial to us!"

"Trying to play the Brute, Desert Man?"

"Wha~t? Who the hell are you lowlife?"

"Weren't ya guys looking for me one year ago?"

"One year ago…? Forte…?"

"Yep. Say hi to "Gospel Jr.", by the way!"

"Grrrr…"

"Crap!"

Desert Man had appeared inside of the Science Labs' Cyber World and had been hitting a firewall before Forte and "Gospel Jr." showed up from behind him.

"I lately have trouble sleeping, so I decided to go for a stroll and I came here out of reminiscence. I wanted to see what had changed. I kept "Gospel Jr." cloaked and most people didn't repair on me since I was a passerby. But my stuff is my stuff. If ya leave now, then I won't lift a finger regarding ya and your pals." Forte shrugged.

"You lowlife… Desert Man – sama never runs from a fight being the glorious WWW Navi he is!" Desert Man growled.

"Fine. Show me the license."

"License?"

"Isn't it written on your forehead?"

"Written in my forehead…?"

Desert Man looked up at it, but, before he could react, Forte had jumped atop him and torn off a piece of the "hat" he carried: he then took out a gun and began to spray something atop the head before jumping back and giggling.

"What did you lowlife do?" Desert Man demanded.

"I wrote _Sand Man_ there."

"You lowlife… Lion Head!"

"Hell's Buster!"

Desert Man made one his hands "sink" into the ground to then re-form as a lion's head with red eyes: Forte drew a buster-like weapon and began to bombard Desert Man with some hits which stunned him momentarily: Forte then drew his two blades.

"Dark Arm Blade! Oi! Gospel Jr.! Give him a greeting!"

Forte plunged both blades into Desert Mans' forehead while "Gospel Jr." opened his mouth and shot a stream of greenish flames towards Desert Man: he roared in agony and recoiled.

"You lowlife…!" He roared.

"Did ya say something, Sand Man?"

"Grua~h…! This can't be…!"

"Can be!"

"DIE~! Great Lion Head!"

Desert Man formed a greater "Lion Head" which shot towards "Gospel Jr." but it had no effect apart from angering it and making it jump right in front of Desert Man to then proceed to slash him: Desert Man growled and recoiled while looking confused and overwhelmed: he was pretty pissed off by now too.

"Last chance!" Forte told him.

"DELETE~!"

"Too bad. The finishing blow! Darkness… Overload! Hra~h!"

"UWO~H! GLORY TO… THE WWW…!"

Forte clasped his hands together and produced a purple-colored blast of energy which he shot at Desert Man: the blast pierced through him and he roared before being deleted.

"Now the WWW only has Flash Man left… Wait! There's that Bubble Man guy, too… But I wouldn't count him 'cause he's unimportant. And, from the "Zero Virus" Incident time, we've got Bright Man and Star Man plus that newbie named Bowl Man… Heh! This could be over by the weekend, I'd say!" He grinned.

"Grawl."

"Good work."

"Yo! Zero. What's up?"

Zero walked up to Forte while some Navis hurriedly began repairs on the damage inflicted by Desert Man.

"I found out what Yuriko is up to. It's laughable, really."

"Laughable?"

"Do you remember when, in the summer, we stopped that plot involving those "Cybeasts" in Cyber City?"

"Yeah. I beat a guy named Element Man up."

"Well! You see… Yuriko is so _brilliant_ that she wants to - _invent the 3__rd__ Cybeast_!"

"No way… A rookie programmer programming a new Falzer? She's gotta be the arrogant type."

"Don't underestimate women, Forte. When they set their mind to something, they can be way more ruthless than men. There was a terrific criminal who ruled over all of Japan's underground circles who was a woman barely on her 30s…" Zero warned.

"H-huh! Okay, okay… Sorry, sorry. I take that of before back, Zero. My bad…" He gulped.

"But you were right in one thing: she's a rookie programmer and thinks that mere looks and attacks are enough. She obviously is clueless about how to handle armor thickness and power levels. Result: a lame thing which even "Gospel Jr." could stand to."

"Grawl! Grrr! Grawl!"

"His blood's boiling: he's waiting for this showdown with a _feral_ opponent worth his time." Forte grinned.

"Sure thing… Huh? Who the…?"

"Yikes!"

A small figure tried to run out but Zero dashed forward and grabbed it from behind to then walk back into the light: the one who'd been snooping was a small Net Navi who was barely a meter and forty tall to begin with.

His face was surrounded by a blue helmet having ear-pads with twelve black dots drawn into their surface: a transparent green shade was set over his simple eyes and he had no nose: his face was rather child-like to begin with.

He had a main body colored navy blue from which his short arms and legs emerged while his neck was so short that it was almost non-existent.

A small backpack which looked like two oxygen tanks was set on his back plus a lantern built over his head and connected to them.

His shoulders were colored in a deeper shade of blue and his short arms without elbows emerged from there: a sky blue rim marked the start of the forearm while the rest of its surface was colored navy blue: his fingers had orange "skin" and his emblem (three white bubbles of different size against a black background) was repeated over the palms.

His feet design included orange flipper-like shapes around the feet while the color pattern was the same as in the forearms.

His central body had nothing remarkable drawn or built over it save for the chest emblem and a sky blue rim around his neck.

Overall, he looked short and incompetent.

"This guy… Bubble Man?" Forte guessed.

"Puku! I've been found out, puku!" Bubble Man gasped.

"Flash Man sent you?"

"Flash Man, puku? I can't stand that guy, puku! They ditched me, puku, and didn't take into account that I was their best hockey goalkeeper, puku! I'm now an information seller at the Reverse Square, puku! And I'm gonna tell everyone, puku!"

"Fine. Yuriko will soon find out that no – one will ever remember her and will only laugh at her. Get out." Zero shrugged.

"If ya try to come here again… Ya will become this guy's _hors d'oeuvre_, see!" Forte giggled.

"Puku~!"

Bubble Man ran out at top speed like he was gonna be slaughtered there and now while the other two looked on: Gate Man soon joined them and also chuckled.

"If you step into my gate once, you don't come out twice: you end up in the _Naraku_." He announced.

"Yeah. So true." Zero folded his arms.

"I'm off to my abode. Try to rest a while, too, guys." Forte suggested as he barely repressed a yawn.

"Count on us." Gate Man chuckled.

"If they dare to come again, we'll have a welcome committee waiting for them…" Zero told them.

The group chuckled while "Gospel Jr." scratched the back of one leg and growled something…

07:21 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Puku! I've got news about the "Secret Army", puku! I know their true goal, puku! I overheard two Official Net Battler Navis, puku! Bubble Man – sama knows it all, puku!"

"Oi. Cha. Cha are THE Bubble Man?"

"Yeah, puku! Are ya Mr. X?"

"… If you want to call me like that…"

"O. K.! 5000!"

"5000? Fine… Here you have."

"Good, puku! Heh, heh, heh. Ahem, ahem! The woman known as Yuriko wants to build a "Cybeast", puku!"

"A "Cybeast"…? Those things in Cyber City…? Intriguing…"

"But she's a rookie, puku!"

"Rookie?"

"She can't hope to make something even half-decent, puku! It'd be totally easy to beat it, puku!"

"Ah. Then we can stop bothering ourselves about them… They're laughable, really. I dunno why Boss thought they were a threat but he tends to be somewhat too paranoid from time to time…"

"Huh? What, puku?"

"Ops. Sorry, my fellow. I was thinking aloud. 2500 extra and don't tell anyone else… Deal?"

"Roger, puku!"

Bubble Man had been speaking with the Navi cloaked in black and he sounded unimpressed about the news Bubble Man relayed: he merely shrugged while Bubble Man was anxiously rubbing his hands in excitement while having a broad grin on his face.

"So! You're a _ninja_, too?" Someone asked.

The black Navi gasped and turned around to see Omega leaning against a nearby column while toying with his deactivated saber by tossing it into the air and catching it up again as it fell.

"_Ninja_? What made you think that?" The Navi asked.

"'Cause Bubble Man over there called ya Mr. X…"

"I don't see the connection."

"Check _Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty_ out, _Danna_. You'll find your answers there. But one thing is sure: you're Yakuza."

"… Yeah! I'm Yakuza."

"Yakuza, puku! Run for your meals, puku! PUKU~!"

Bubble Man ran off at top speed from his corner and the other Navis in the square looked over there: some of them immediately ran off while others looked confused.

"Yakuza? Then we can make some deals!" One grinned.

"Wait! I've heard about the red guy: a collaborator of the Officials! His power is rumored to be no joke! He could sweep through all of us without blinking twice!" Another gasped.

"What!"

"Ya better run 'cause the Cincinnati Butcher came to say hi and bye to you guys." Omega grinned as he picked the weapon and turned it on.

The Navis immediately ran off while the cloaked subject took some steps backwards before running off and jumping off the ledge: Omega, however, crouched and jumped across the air while spinning and then aimed his weapon downwards to fall and build up kinetic energy: the cloaked Navi landed on one knee and using the right hand but Omega hit the floor with the saber and produced a high-voltage electrical discharge which turned most of the lighting off thus surrounding them by blackness: Omega faded from sight while chuckling.

"What! Stealth camouflage…!" The Navi realized.

"Terror Man has awakened…" Omega chanted nearby.

"T-Terror Man…? Wasn't this guy named Omega…?"

"Heh, heh, heh. Bertie~! Saxby~! Come at me~!"

"Is this guy crazy or what…?"

"Clark Kent – sama~! I've brought the elixir of eternal life and the Giorgio Armani fedora~!"

"Giorgio Armani fedora…?" "Mr. X." sounded puzzled.

He tried to run away but he was suddenly met with a horrific-looking zombie which advanced towards him.

"BRAINSSSSS…" It uttered.

"Gu… Gua~h!"

"What's this scandal…? I was sleeping…!" Someone asked with a hint of annoyance.

"Yo! Mr. Y. Sorry to wake ya up but your _otouto – chan_ is scared of blackness and _zombies_, so…" Omega joked.

"Huh? Mr. Y? And why are ya calling my Navi "otouto – chan" to begin with?" The Operator sounded puzzled.

"BRAINSSSS…"

"D-die! Mega Cannon!"

The Navi drew a Mega Cannon but the shot flew past the _zombie_: the Navi lost balance and began to crawl back with his hands.

"G-ghost… Zombie ghost…!"

"_Baka_ guy! That's a hologram! Plug Out!"

"R-roger!"

"O~h… Playtime's over…?"

"Why, you…! I'll remember this! First the old man with the SAA Revolver, now you…! No – one humiliates a Yakuza field agent!"

"Be glad it was me and not Vamp."

"Vamp?"

"The Romanian knife assassin…"

"R-Romanian knife assassin, you say!"

"Or Fat Man…"

"Fat Man…? Hey! Don't joke! That's the name of the A – Bomb which they dropped in Nagasaki…! That's not something to make fun of!" The Operator protested.

"No, no! I meant a guy who calls himself the "Emperor of Demolition" and is an expert at making any type of explosives… Check out _MGS2_ as well to find out more 'bout the guy!" Omega told him.

"Hmpf!"

"Che!"

The line went dead and the lights returned to normal once Omega took the saber out of the ground: he grinned and pocketed the weapon on his hip's construct before jumping back at the upper level.

"Omega… What have you done now?" Vadous suddenly questioned over the radio while sounding suspicious.

"Playing Terror Man with Mr. X…"

"Mr. X?"

"The cloaked Navi."

"So?"

"Yakuza."

"Yakuza, huh… Way too convenient. Nah. They're another party but they try to lure us away."

"Heh, heh, heh. I guess he'll have nightmares tonight."

"Normal Navis can't dream or have nightmares."

"It's a way of speaking…"

"Hmpf. I don't find it funny at all." Vadous sentenced.

"Maybe Sgt. Johnson's mottos are funnier?"

"That's black humor: very Ameroupe – like."

"Guess so… Anyway… Mr. Z says Gorilla Man is gonna destroy everything on his path." Omega grinned.

"You mean Guts Man… And I wouldn't be surprised if it was true but this ain't the right moment to talk about this." Vadous fumed.

"GATTSU~! Guts Hammer, gattsu! Guts Man will train, gattsu! And Dekao – sama will praise Guts Man, gattsu! Then Roll – chan will praise Guts Man, gattsu!" Guts Man's voice rang out close by.

"Training? Alone? In the Reverse Square? Has he gone insane or what? He barely passed the "A" License exam!"

"Let them be: they live in Gorilla Land." Omega chuckled.

"Sure, sure… Come back here already."

"Roger, Mantis."

"Mantis?"

"Psycho Mantis! Aren't ya skilled at reading people's hearts like they were open books?" Omega joked.

"NO!" Vadous roared.

"Too bad!"

Omega suddenly logged out while Vadous growled something under his breath.

_Che! I'm starting to be fed up with Omega's crazy humor…!_


	9. Chapter 8: Unleashed

**Chapter 8: Unleashed**

18:43 PM (Japan Time), Friday October the 5th…

"… So! This is the place. A local soccer field… And judging from the mail's initials… The Net Navi who sent it is the guy named Bowl Man."

"Yeah… But we've got the "Committee" agents covering for us and I doubt that guy being much of a trouble."

"Heh! We'll send him flying to Hokkaido in one blow!"

"Netto – kun… Being overconfident is bad."

"Heh, heh! That's my style, Rock Man!"

"Fine."

Netto (wearing his middle school uniform and the bandana) was standing in the midst of an empty local soccer field: two goalposts missing the net could be seen at both ends of it and the field lacked any markings: a road crossed the area from the NE and headed SW but was not heavily transited today: the sun was starting to set under the horizon, too: he looked amused as he held his Link PET and spotted a blue Toyota with two passengers onboard parked close by.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Today I win, useless blue pin! Bowl Man – sama's turn to shine has come! Mwah, hah, hah, ha~h!" Bowl Man's voice rang out of nowhere.

"Coming!" Netto grinned.

"Be ready, Netto – kun!"

"Hah! No – one can stand up to the great me: Plant Man was weak but I'm ten times stronger than that crappy guy!" Bowl Man boasted next.

"Show your hide!" Netto challenged.

Four "Dimensional Converters" emerged from the edges of the field and created a Dimensional Area: Netto drew his "Synchro Chip" and prepared as Bowl Man materialized in front of him.

"Bowl Man – sama's come! Be deleted! Bowling Bomber!"

"Not so fast! Synchro Chip, Slot In! CROSS FUSION!"

Netto slotted the "Synchro Chip" into his Link PET and the flash obliged Bowl Man to step back: before he could begin attacking, though, he saw how the Dream Sword Program Advance was travelling across the ground towards him.

"No way!"

The attack hit him fully and he roared in agony before collapsing to his knees and panting: he looked annoyed while "CF" Netto was calm and collected.

"You lowlife~! Gatling Ping!"

"… Giga Cannon!"

"No way!"

"Way!"

"Guo~h!"

"Did that do it?"

"No… Not yet…!"

Bowl Man was gravely injured but he somehow was managing to remain on his feet and looking annoyed.

"Come on! You're at your limit. Go back already: you guys can't win us with this level of power." "CF" Netto sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Shaddup, useless blue pin! Bowling Bomber! HROA~H!"

"Crap!"

Bowl Man summoned a gigantic bowling ball which began to grown in size as he lifted it with both arms: he roared and looked psychotic while "CF" Netto gulped stepped back.

"T-this guy is the diehard type!" He muttered.

"HROA~H! POWER… MORE POWER! GODLY POWER…!"

"Hmpf. How foolish… Power, you lowlife say? You lowlife are not worth existing to begin with… Vanish!" A voice suddenly sentenced.

"Uh… Ugh… Gruh… Grah…! M-my arms…! I'm losing… strength…! No…! I can't be beaten here…!"

"What the…?"

Bowl Man's arms suddenly began to turn into stone followed by his legs, main body and face: he was crushed under the weight of his own "Bowling Bomber" and he blew up just as a purple-colored Plant Man appeared on the field and formed a smug smile.

"Plant Man! But we beat you days ago!" "CF" Netto gasped.

"This is but a proxy, an incarnation of my core essence."

"Nebula Grey!" "CF" Netto deduced.

"Correct! Hero! You lowlifes hold the title of "Light" and I hold the title of "Evil"… But no matter how hard you try, you lowlifes can't destroy "hate", "grudge" or "evil"… They are present in all humans! I shall be observing everything: and when the right time comes…" It trailed off.

The purple-colored Plant Man laughed in an evil tone of voice before he disappeared and the "Dimensional Area" vanished: Netto picked the Link PET but didn't look satisfied.

"What a jerk: popping out just to crush Bowl Man and remind us that this won't be the end of our troubles…" He grumbled.

"Not like we can do much about it, Netto – kun."

"I know. But it picks on me, anyway. And something tells me they've decided to go all out by today." Netto added.

"We have no choice but to wait for news."

Netto distractedly nodded in agreement without noticing the teen observing him from afar using binoculars and chuckling…

18:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… _Check it out_! What weak guys! And this is supposed to be a high-security facility? Don't make me laugh! Nyah, hah, hah, hah! This was too easy! This has gotta be something else…"

"This is just the outer layer designed to lure intruders in by placing deliberately weak defenses: the middle layer is where all of them end up failing and being destroyed."

"Who…?"

"My name is Colonel."

"_Check it out_! Colonel?"

Bright Man was standing in the middle of a half-wrecked Cyber World area filled with wreckage and beaten down Net Navis: one did walk towards him from further inside.

"You will regret coming here."

Colonel appealed as being close to two meters tall in height.

His helmet had a triangle-like form which extended forward and included a small red triangle with golden rims on it.

His eyes' irises were green.

His ear pads had no drawing on them and black hair came out in pointed shape behind the partly open helmet.

The armor had high neck and his face was protected by a red-colored structure: his main body had a black suit which ended in a Scottish skirt like piece of armor.

There was a gap between the chest armor and the skirt around the stomach area and the emblem was set at the start of the skirt: a yellowish-colored octahedron with a metallic gray circle was set there on the center.

The circle had two small vertical squares colored black on the north and south ends complemented with a small rectangle on the middle.

A gray-colored line formed around the upper edge of the skirt and then descended across the middle of it.

Four pyramid-base-shaped yellowish shapes were drawn on the lower edge of the skirt: two per side.

His shoulder pads which were placed at the sides of his shoulders were colored white and each had a small rectangle cavity on them.

His left wrist had a metallic bracelet which ended in a blade-shaped extension over the hand's palm while his right forearm had a red capsule-like object set on it from which a pale green saber emerged: the opening had four white-colored teeth-like pieces set around it.

The Navi also sported black boots with a thin gray-colored pattern bordering them which started a little below the knee and one small vertical yellowish rectangle slightly above of where the feet fingers ended.

He sported a blue silk cape which fell slightly short of reaching the ground and emerged from beneath his shoulders.

"_Check it out_! So a strong guy of this so-called "Network Force" is gonna take on the shining great me~? Bring it on! Bright Beam…!"

"Slow. Screen Divide!"

Bright Man began to make his "eyes" glow: Colonel lifted his sword and created four thunderbolt-like green bolts of energy which travelled across the ground and opened a crevice as they travelled towards Bright Man: they hit him and formed four gashes plus pushing him into the ground: Colonel jumped and landed in front of him: he aimed the saber at his neck next.

"Last opportunity: leave now or be deleted."

"_Check it out_! The great I won't run out! Energy Ball!"

"Hmpf. Colonel Cannon! Fire!"

"KYA~H! THE GREAT ME~… UGYA~H!"

"Hmpf. Intruder deleted. The blast pieced them. Let's go report."

18:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh! So! Who has the guts to come face THE Star Man? Come out, you cowards!"

"Star Man. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yikes! Z-Zero!"

"Yeah. Me."

"Che! Now I'll go and blow you up!"

"You won't negotiate, then."

"Who is gonna negotiate? Shooting Star Shower!"

"Slow."

Star Man showed up on the Science Labs' outer perimeter but stumbled upon Zero who seemed to have been expecting him: he'd drawn his sword and Star Man looked annoyed: he opened a "gateway" and summoned a shower of shooting stars but Zero warped forward and slashed Star Man with his sword: Star Man hissed.

"Meteor!"

Some incandescent meteors fell down from the sky towards Zero but he was unfazed: Star Man got a twitch over his right eye and seemed to be getting further annoyed.

"This guy…!"

"Hmpf."

"I'm so gonna blow this guy up!"

"Boast while you can."

"Why, you…!"

"Go away."

"No! Dark Chip!"

Star Man drew the "Dark Chip" and activated it: the purple "aura" surrounded him but, at the same time, the blue flame belonging to Nebula Grey appeared and joined the "aura" thus turning it into a bluish color similar to gas: Star Man's colors changed to purple and his eyes shone red: menacing teeth formed on his mouth and a hollow laughter rang out: Zero stepped back, surprised.

"Fool! You lowlife abandoned your own will just for power… Like all these foolish humans have done for eons! I shall use this vessel to try you out, Virus!" Nebula Grey proclaimed.

"I'm not a "Virus" anymore: I'm a Net Navi!" Zero growled.

"Come!"

"Hra~h!"

"Hmpf!"

Zero tried to hit the possessed Star Man but was repelled: he fumed and did something with the left hand.

"Vaccine Program!"

"Hmpf!"

Zero aimed his left hand at Star Man and a yellowish spheroid of light formed on his chest: he yelled and clutched his head before Nebula Grey roared.

"You lowlifes… have just destroyed… a duplicate… I am an eternal existence which… you lowlifes cannot overcome… I shall… overcome Space-Time… And all those strong ones shall be pulled into a blood-soaked "Dark Sea" which they shall painfully wander until the end of Time…! Mwa, hah, hah, ha~h!" Nebula Grey proclaimed.

Star Man and the blue flame were deleted and Zero lowered the sword while sighing and sounding concerned.

_Nebula Grey… What will you stir up next? A war…? Drug trading…? Red light…? We can't know yet… _

19:07 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Neon Light!"

"Hmpf! Neo Variable Sword!"

"You lowlife…!"

"That's my motto."

"Neon Light! Die!"

"Wrong."

Flash Man was facing off against Red Sword but the guy had no trouble dodging or blocking Flash Man's attacks which were dome-shaped yellow-colored masses of moving electricity.

"I'll bring glory to the WWW by defeating you lowlife!" He prattled.

"You guys' Operators are in jail. Wily is in jail. There's no WWW left anymore." Red Sword shrugged.

"Shaddup! Flash Light!"

Flash Man hit the floor with one punch to create a bulb with its support and base which emitted loose electricity: but Red Sword suddenly moved forward and plunged his sword into Flash Man's right shoulder: Flash Man growled and tried to hit Red Sword with one of his palms' daggers only to step into something and be sent flying by an explosion.

"I placed a mine."

"Y-you lowlife~!"

"The end."

Red Sword jumped into the air and then plunged his sword through Flash Man's chest: he roared in agony before he was deleted.

"Only Needle Man left… Hmpf. This was destined to fail from the start, anyway, so…."

He chuckled under his breath and looked amused…

19:31 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Shah, shah, shah! All of them! All of them have been deleted! Ya better have that thing ready by now, Yuriko, 'cause they'll be coming for us tomorrow!"

"Hmpf. Let them come. Greizer will annihilate them."

"Is that what you're calling that thing?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"It's so unoriginal! Ya just picked "Greiga" and "Falzer" to then mix them up! Are ya sure it'll be THAT powerful?"

"Yeah. No doubt."

"Shah, shah, shah! It better be!"

"What do you mean by "it better be"?"

"'Cause if not they'll sweep the ground with us standing on it, Yuriko! Shah, shah, shah!"

"Calm down. I've got everything under control."

"Ya said the same for those guys."

"Those guys and my project are different things."

"Hmpf! Alright! Have it your way!"

Needle Man and Yuriko were discussing without noticing "Mr. X." listening on their conversation.

"Really… That thing IS gonna be a failure. One blow and it'll be over! That woman has no idea of how to program a powerful enemy like Dr. Wily did with the Dream Virus…" He muttered.

"Yeah… She's gotta be the type who wants to play villain just to go down in history like Wily and Regal… But no – one will bother to know who she was or what she did." DS_002 replied with a shrug.

"Hmmm?"

"Yuriko! Is this true? I got a mail saying ya stole the fedora from a guy named Mori!"

"I never had any interest in fedoras and I don't know anyone named Mori to begin with." She dully replied.

"The sender is a guy named "Troll-O"… Who's that?"

"A joker, I'd say. Don't mind them."

"O… Omega… I'd stake my money on that half-crazy guy." "Mr. X." drily muttered.

"Sure thing… The show he set up looked like an amusement park's attraction to begin with…" DS_002 grumbled.

"But until we confirm that guy's true potential, then it'd be suicidal to take the guy on, Operator."

"I knew that, X! Let's just scram before Zero comes over and spots us: we don't wanna call attention until we can start on the "Project"…" DS_002 sentenced.

"Roger, Operator."

"Mr. X." fled the scene but didn't avoid the glare of Blood Shadow, who'd hidden in a hard-to-spot corner.

"Mr. X and his Operator… It'd seem we'll need to focus on them starting next week. Gentlemen… The hunt is on and we'll hunt them to the end of the world if needed were they to be a peril to the general populace: with the combined efforts of the "Committee" and the police then they'll have it hard to escape anywhere at all… They're about to be caught into the net, anyway… Heh, heh, heh." Blood Shadow muttered with a hint of amusement.

"Bloody Shadowy~! Your girlfriend called and is waiting for ya~! Bring her Madonna's perfume~!" Omega joked over the radio.

"Oh come on…! Sir Omega…! Please: stop this, sir!" He pleaded.

Omega giggled while Blood Shadow grumbled something…


	10. Chapter 9: Vain effort

**Chapter 9: Vain effort**

07:07 AM (Japan Time), Saturday October the 6th…

"… Shah, shah, shah! Yuriko's still napping and that "Greizer" thing won't move 'till she wakes up… Let's hope nothing happens in the meanwhile: that'd be a blow!"

"A blow with a Siamese vodka bottle, you mean?"

"Yeah! Huh? Who…?"

"Target spotted."

"Good. What did you with "it", anyway?"

"I password-locked all files, sir."

"Good work. Oi! Punk biker! Time to retire from the stage: Ms. Fashion says you're outdated."

"Che! Shah, shah, shah! Who the…? A military Navi and a military Operator…? Wait! That uniform… Sharo Nation!"

"Catching up? I'm Laika and this is Search Man."

"Starting analysis…"

Needle Man had been patrolling around Yuriko's computer when two voices rang out: Needle Man turned to see a military Navi aiming a gun.

His helmet included a band around the forehead which circled the whole diameter of the head and a band crossing from the middle of the helmet to the other side thus forming an arch: the pads were placed clearly above the ears in this case: orange-tinted hair could be seen covering the sides and read part of the head: the iris color was red yet the eyes almost looked like camera lenses.

Finally, the Navi had a pyramid-shaped green spot exactly over his chin, carried a small microphone for radio communication emerged from the right side of his helmet while his left eye was covered by a small piece of an LCD visor which seemed to be there to display information.

His upper body was protected by green body armor which contained some patches of lush green: it had the general form of a protective vest.

Two round metallic plates with a grayish border were placed directly above his shoulders to protect them.

His left forearm had a circle around the wrist and a "scope" sign colored brown and set atop a black circle over the left hand could be seen: his right forearm, in comparison, had a gun built into it which included a cone-shaped trigger: it looked deadly enough.

His lower body was exposed and his black "skin" could be clearly seen starting under the upper torso armor.

His legs, starting at around the hips, were also covered in armor which included two oval-shaped circles around the knees: the boots had a square-like end.

His overall height seemed to be around a meter and seventy tall, more or less.

"Don't forget me."

A communications window displayed a man on his late teens which had blue eyes and sky blue hair.

The neck area of a green shirt could be seen as well as a red cap.

"I'm Laika. Ijuuin contacted me: I'm late for the party."

"Shah, shah, shah! How did ya know where this place was at?" Needle Man demanded.

"Easy! You guys have been monitored ever since last week without noticing it… I was just given the address!" Laika shrugged.

"What should I do, Laika – sama?"

"Engage and neutralize. The Net Police want him in one piece."

"Roger. Starting operation."

"Shah, shah, shah! Needle Cannon!"

"Scope Gun!"

Needle Man switched his hands for gun muzzles and shot some short and thick white-colored needles towards Search Man: he shot a straight laser blast from his Scope Gun which pierced through the needles and hit Needle Man on the chest emblem: it got a crack on it and Needle Man growled something as he momentarily covered it with his right hand and got a twitch over the right eye.

"T-this JERK…! Needle Attack!"

"Satellite Ray!"

Needle Man's body needles grew in size, but, before he could take one step forward, a miniature satellite formed behind him and shot a green laser at his back: he turned around to try to spot it but heard the sound of something rolling under his feet: he looked down at them to spot four round grenades.

"Search Grenades!"

"SHA~H!"

The explosions shattered Needle Man's elongated needles but Search Man had already formed the "Mugen Vulcan" Program Advance: Needle Man gasped.

"Mugen Vulcan!"

"NO WAY~! UGYA~H!"

The multiple rounds from the Program Advance forced him to logout: Search Man lowered his weapon and looked calm.

"Mission complete, sir."

"Good work. Ms. Bad luck came." Laika grinned.

"Acknowledged, sir."

"Heh, heh, heh. If only they knew my bunkmates' jokes…"

"I wouldn't think they'd get the point, sir."

07:31 AM (Japan Time)…

"… What the… What's with this? "Input password"… I didn't put any password to begin with! Needle Man! Is this your idea of a joke? I didn't like it!"

"I'm afraid Needle Man is napping."

"Who…?"

"Why don't you directly call me "Mr. Denpa" and we settle it, Oozono Yuriko?"

"H-how do you know who I am?"

"We haven't been sitting idle."

"Che!"

Yuriko had begun working with her laptop only to get annoyed when she was denied access: Mr. Denpa suddenly popped out from the unlit portion of the small bare room behind her and she whipped around while looking annoyed.

"The police are on their way here… I guess another three minutes left before they arrive here." Mr. Denpa calmly exposed.

"Out of the way!"

Yuriko ran towards him while carrying her chair as if intending to hit him with it but Mr. Denpa suddenly stepped towards the left and Yuriko ran past him before crashing with the closed door and bouncing off: she erratically walked backwards before collapsing face-up on the ground along with the chair.

"Looks like she hit the forehead with the door… Anyway… Thank you for taking care of things on that side, _Comrade_…"

"My pleasure, sir. I am always glad to help a former GRU and KGB agent, a veteran." Laika calmly replied.

Mr. Denpa chuckled under his breath and looked amused…

08:44 AM (Japan Time)…

"W-W-W-W-WHA~T? That's impossible, puku! No way, puku! You're lying, puku! Show me your face, puku!"

"I won't remove my shades. But know it, Bubble Man. You're the only WWW Navi left 'cause you're harmless."

"Harmless, puku! Do ya think Wily – sama would program a "harmless" Navi, puku?"

"Yeah. You were made weak in purpose so that we wouldn't think seriously of the others and get over-confident so they could blow up into bits and pieces."

"No way, puku!"

"Way."

"Curse you, Brad Shad!"

"Blood Shadow! Are you hard of hearing or what?"

Blood Shadow was speaking with Bubble Man and didn't look amused in the least while Bubble Man was acting the tough guy.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, ,hah, hah, ha~h! Not bad! Now it's my turn, Brad Shad! Oi! Bubble Man jerk! You're fired!" Sigma's voice rang out.

"Sigma…!" Blood Shadow sounded annoyed.

Sigma walked up to Blood Shadow's right and looked amused: he ignored Blood Shadow's scolding glare and then loomed over Bubble Man: the guy seemed to lose confidence and began to sweat: Sigma looked terrific enough at close-quarters and with poor lighting: Bubble Man began to sweat.

"Mwa, hah, hah, hah! Babel Man! Go finish building Babel's Tower using Viruses!" Sigma laughed.

"Babel Man? Puku! I'm Bubble Man!"

"I wonder about that! More like Coward Man."

"How dare you, puku!"

"Maybe ya prefer RAY to me?"

"RAY, puku?"

"Look over there!"

"KYA~H! PUKU~! RUN FOR IT, PUKU~!"

Metal Gear RAY had showed up behind Bubble Man and was looking down (literally) on him: Bubble Man ran off while RAY disappeared to show both Forte and "Gospel Jr." on its place.

"The hologram trick never fails. Let's see Gorilla Man run for his kilograms next." He grinned.

"Grrr…"

"He reeked of Mr. Clean detergent." Forte told them.

"Sure thing!" Sigma grinned.

"Ah. I see." Blood Shadow wasn't amused in the least.

"Why do ya and Rock Man so pessimistic, anyway?" Sigma asked.

"It ain't being "pessimistic", Sigma. I'm "serious", you know."

"Yeah? Serious?"

"Sigma…!" Vadous hissed over the radio.

"Huh! Boss!"

"Stop pestering Blood! And, Forte… I'd be grateful if you didn't side with Omega in that. Just because Blood's the youngest of the crew, he doesn't deserve this pressure on him. Or are you trying to be bullies?"

"No, no!" Forte gasped.

"No, Boss!"

"Huff! Then no more nicknames and jokes, Sigma! Do something useful instead! Get it?" Vadous commanded.

"R-roger, Boss…"

"Yo! Boss! Reaching Reach?" Omega joked in the background.

"Go – mop – your – room." Vadous icily shot back.

"… Y-yeah… Right…" Even Omega seemed to lose his bright mood and sounded nervous by Vadous' tone of voice.

The sound of footsteps running away followed by a hum rang out along with intakes and exhales of air: Sigma and Forte looked nervous along with Blood Shadow: silence was absolute.

"… Blood. Sigma. Wrap up. Return." Vadous told them.

"R-roger…"

"Forte."

"Y-yeah? What's up, _Danna_?"

"Do as you like but do remember my request: don't pester Blood or Rock Man too much. If it ain't much asking…"

"N-no… I'll try to pose the serious guy from time to time, too…"

"Fine."

"W-well then… See ya."

"Later."

"Unh… Good luck."

"Grrr…"

Blood Shadow and Sigma ran off while Forte looked somewhat nervous: he then glanced around and looked suspicious.

"Grrrr!"

"Hmmm… Someone was watching us… Fishy. Who could've it been, anyway? Someone with lotta GUTS, I guess… Heh, heh, heh."

He remained there while "Gospel Jr." growled in a low tone of voice…

8:57 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Good news, Hiro – kun. Needle Man and Yuriko got caught just a little while ago!"

"Oho. It'd seem Fortune didn't bring her "fortune" along, eh?"

"Hiro – kun…"

"Yo! Behold!"

"Grah!"

Delta had reported the news to Hiro and he'd made a joke before bringing the PET along with him to the restroom and making it face the mirror where he was reflected as he stood in the bathroom with only his boxers on: Delta suddenly looked nervous and he blushed before he disappeared inside of the PET.

"Heh, heh! Gotcha."

"Hiro – kun!" Delta yelled in protest.

"What?"

"Hadn't we agreed not to do this?" Delta told him.

"I didn't sign any contract." Hiro shrugged.

"Crap." Delta grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh. Caught ya." Hiro grinned.

"Hiro – kun! It can end up badly!" Delta protested.

"How badly?" Hiro asked.

"… You know it." Delta drily replied.

"Come on! It's not like the world will end 'cause ya know how cool of a guy I am." Hiro teased.

Delta fumed while Hiro shrugged and made a mess of his hair as if trying to look cooler…

09:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"Hmmm… Paella…"

"Paella Man says you're fired."

"Wha~t? Come here, you… Uack!"

THUD!

"Sleeping Beauty's unceremonious awakening?"

"O~w… Saito – niisan! No fair!"

"Bite me, Netto – kun."

"Crap…"

Netto had suddenly come out of his bed but missed the step and crashed against the floor while Saito sat on a chair and looked on with a smug smile on his face.

"It's not good to oversleep." Saito shrugged.

"Oversleep? It's barely past 9 in the morning!" Netto groaned.

"But it's better to wake up before 10. We went to sleep at 11 PM yesterday, after all." Saito insisted.

"What's up today?"

"The tale is over."

"The tale…? Oh. Needle Man and Yuriko… What happened with that "3rd Cybeast" stuff?"

"That Sharo Official, Search Man, took care of it. They password-locked all files and then confiscated their laptop after beating Needle Man and tricking the mastermind into knocking herself out."

"Huh… Wait. Wasn't there a WWW Navi left who…?"

"Bubble Man? They gave him such a scare that he's gotta be running towards Costa Rica by now." Saito laughed.

"Uh-unh… Sure, sure…" Netto muttered.

"Is that skepticism?" Saito asked.

"Not sure…" Netto admitted.

"Wouldn't you know? He was so hard of hearing that he mistook "Blood Shadow" for "Brad Shad"…" Saito told him with a grin.

"No way…" Netto groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh. Reversal of roles!" Saito announced.

Netto rolled his eyes, stood up, and shut himself in the bathroom while Saito stretched and began to type into the computer's keyboard as he hummed a melody.

"Normally Netto – kun is the one joking over me. Well then, I had a little sweet counterstrike chance today." He muttered.

Netto came out and began to arrange his bed back while looking still half-asleep: Saito then crouched behind him and began to tickle the stomach area: Netto began to laugh and Saito grinned.

"S-stop it already, niisan! I'm very sensible!" He pleaded.

"I wanna have a thrill." Saito told him.

"Then call… Thrill Man…!"

"Better yet! I'll invent him."

"No way…"

"Heh, heh, heh. I'm a genius and we're making up for those long six years of being split in each one's worlds… There's a lot of stuff to do!"

"Okay, okay! I won't troll ya anymore, but stop this already…!"

"Not yet."

"Crafty guy…!"

Saito grinned while Netto kept on laughing in an uncontrollable manner…


	11. Chapter 10: Finale

**Chapter 10: Finale**

11:49 AM (Japan Time), Saturday October the 6th…

"… Wha~t? There were a bunch of Navis attacking people and Dekao – sama couldn't go save the day? WHY didn't you guys tell me about that to begin with?"

"It was competence of the Net Police and the Officials, Dekao. So it's not like you could do as you liked."

"Yeah. Go beat Bubble Man."

"O~h! So there's one left?"

"Yeah. But that's because the guy's short and a coward."

"That won't do!"

"Unless you prefer Sigma…"

"Yeah! I'll blow that Sigma guy up!"

"I'd rather say _he_ will blow _you_ up, Dekao – kun."

"Wha! Meiru!"

"Cha are getting the point of it?"

"Man."

"Yeah. Sigh all you want, Dekao – kun, but this is reality. Not pleased with it? Go into the "Matrix"."

"Wha~t?"

"Beware! Vamp is gonna come suck your blood off."

"Yikes!"

Dekao, Netto, Saito, Meiru, Yaito, Tooru and Hiro were chatting as they gathered on Yaito's house's living room: Dekao looked defeated while the others were grinning.

"Vamp… Short for "vampire", then?" Saito deduced.

"Yeah… It's never explicitly stated, but with the looks the guy has and his behavior…" Hiro shrugged.

"Guts, guts! Guts Man – sama will beat that Sigma guy, gutsu!" Guts Man exclaimed through the Link PET's speaker.

"Snake! Kneel before this historic weapon and die by it! At least I'll grant an honor to my Brother! I'll show you… The demonic weapon which will guide us into the 21st century!" A man's voice announced.

"GATTSU~! HUGE, GATTSU~! RUN FOR YOUR SKINS, GATTSU~!" Guts Man yelled.

"I'll crush you into dust!" The manly voice roared.

"W-whoa!" Everyone gasped.

"Forte… You, too?" Delta sighed.

"Heh, heh, heh. REX can scare anything and anyone!" Forte's voice rang out with obvious amusement.

"Sure thing!" Hiro grinned.

"Beware, Gorilla Man! Fedora Man is gonna defeat ya!"

"Why, you…!" Dekao cursed.

"Eh… Ah. True, true. Beware of that Bubble Man guy, Ice Man. You never know!" Forte grinned.

"Desu?" Ice Man frowned.

"I thought that that "Bubble Man" character was not fearsome?"

"I heard the same." Roll frowned.

"Yeah. I don't see the point." Delta added.

"You never know!" Forte shrugged.

"… I don't find it funny." Saito drily told him.

"You don't, Site?"

"Saito! My name is written with _kanji_ and not _katakana_!" Saito protested with some annoyance.

"Yeah. And don't think of calling me "Net" because my name is also written as _kanji_!" Netto added.

"Sorry, sorry… I was trying to lighten up the mood."

"By the way… Have you found out anything else about "Mr. X."?" Delta asked with a hint of intrigue.

"Mr. Denpa told Blood Shadow that his Operator apparently went by the codename of "DS_002", whatever "DS" may mean."

"And if we take it that 001 is the boss… He's gotta be the second highest-ranked guy in their structure." Saito deduced.

"Good guess, Watson."

"Oi. I'm not Wason."

"Who knows?"

"You do, Forte."

"Heh, heh, heh. Alright. Since I made a deal with _Danna_ to not to pester ya guys too much, I'll be going before he sends an SPARTAN – III to chase after me." Forte chuckled.

"In exchange… Bear with me."

"Zero?"

Zero came into the Cyber World while Forte blinked him an eye as they crossed paths: Zero walked over to Delta and stopped there while folding his arms.

"Exit through the short, narrow and evil door if you may: you'll end up at Mexico City's Post Office!"

"Good one!"

Everyone save Dekao and Guts Man laughed at the joke…

11:58 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Puku! Found ya, Brad Shad! I'm gonna defeat ya, puku!"

"Blood Shadow. And that water gun wouldn't even scare a Louisiana swamp alligator."

"Lou-what swamp alligator, puku?"

"Louisiana! Get outta here."

"No, puku! I'll fight, puku!"

"I can use Electric – Attribute Battle Chips to beat you in less than 12 seconds, mind you."

"Boast while you can! Puku! Fish Missile!"

Bubble Man was confronting Blood Shadow in the midst of a Reverse Internet road: Blood Shadow sounded tired and annoyed at his persistence while Bubble Man acted the confident: he suddenly formed five bubbles and metallic fishes came out of them while being propelled by a jet: they impacted Blood Shadow but he didn't flinch and didn't inflict any damage: Bubble Man gasped.

"No way, puku!"

"My armor has a nanomachines repair system: such small attacks can be repaired immediately."

"Puku!"

"Get lost."

"Not yet, puku! Aqua Shoot!"

Bubble Man drew a gun and shot a small harpoon at Blood Shadow who caught it with the left hand and tossed it into the ground: Bubble Man looked panicked by now.

"Flee."

"PUKU~!"

Bubble Man ran off and jumped from the road to another road heading towards the NE: Blood Shadow sighed in defeat and grumbled something under his breath.

"That guy… What stubbornness!" He muttered.

"Yeah… Would be better if we sent the guy to Alaska…" Blizzard Man admitted as he showed up from behind.

"Blizzard Man, huh… Where's the gang?"

"Cloud's gone to investigate some stuff in Shiisaa Island…"

"And the others?"

"Cosmo went to train into the "WWW Area" while Red's chasing a guy who set him up."

"Set him up?"

"Yeah! The guy fooled Red into buying a Neo Variable Sword Battle Chip which was, in truth, a Sword Battle Chip. He stole 30.000 Z off him so ya can imagine he's pretty pissed off."

"No wonder…"

"Uo~h! Here they come~!"

"You lowlife~!"

Blood Shadow and Blizzard Man looked at the road below them to see a Reverse Internet Navi running for his hide while a crowd of other Navis (Red Sword amongst them) chased him while brandishing weapons and looking annoyed.

"Give back the money~!" They all yelled.

"Uo~h! Ru~n!"

"Money! Money! Money!"

"C-crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!"

Blood Shadow and Blizzard Man sighed in defeat as they looked on…

12:08 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Found ya! There's no escape! _Onigami_ – sama came to crush you guys!"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh. Butcher – sama came to turn this into a slaughterhouse~! Run for you defunct and extinct sail ships and steam locomotives!"

"You two… I didn't say anything about crushing or slaughter…"

"Relax, _Danna_! We're just scaring them."

"Yeah! The Officials are on their way here, anyway!"

"Hmpf. Fine."

"Uo~h! Run for it!"

"Roger, Boss!"

Sigma and Omega had showed up in a Cyber World somewhere where a dozen Net Navis had gathered: they made sinister announcements and Vadous had to remind them their goals: the Navis began to run towards the south.

"Escape is futile!" Omega yelled.

"Uo~h! What's with this wall? It wasn't here 10 minutes ago!" One of the Navis gasped.

"If ya wanna come out… Try to beat us!" Sigma taunted.

"C-crap!"

"Nobody move! Official Net Battlers Association!"

"No way!"

"Heh, heh, heh! _Onigama_ – sama wins this round!"

"Butcher – sama made them sweat!"

Both Navis chuckled while Vadous sighed over the radio…

12:21 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So… What's your take into it, Ijuuin?"

"Difficult, Laika."

"… The horse went off to eat."

"Crap."

"So?"

"Eh… Blues…"

"I am sorry, Enzan – sama, but I am not allowed to intervene. It would break the rules, sir."

"In effect."

"Crap. Eh… This."

"Aha – hah!"

"Yikes!"

"Checkmate, Ijuuin."

"I knew it! Chess ain't my forte!"

"Did ya call me, _fukukaichou – sama_?"

"Wha!"

"So that guy's Forte…"

Enzan had been playing a game of chess with Laika through their Link PETs and he ended up losing: Enzan rolled his eyes but then Forte showed up next to Blues and Search Man.

"Yeah. Beware of my crazy emails." He warned.

"Heh. Wait until you see my bunkmates' ones." Laika grinned.

"I thought you guys were serious." Forte looked surprised.

"But it's off-duty stuff, so…" He trailed off.

"Ah… Gotcha." Forte grinned.

"Man. I really need to improve my chess skills. He swept the ground with me on it." Enzan sighed.

"Maybe a cup of hot chocolate will give you energies, _fukukaichou – sama_?" Forte offered.

"Yeah. I'm off to fetch one. Blues. Check my email in case there's something important: order them." Enzan ordered.

"Roger, Enzan – sama." Blues acknowledged.

Enzan headed outside of the office while Forte blew a whistle and "Gospel Jr." came in while munching something.

"I'm surprised you find those Viruses in the WWW Area eatable at all: they being mere immobile self-destructing devices…" Forte told the thing.

"You never know." Laika shrugged.

"By the way! Is there… hum… a tale over there?" Forte asked.

"A tale…? Oh. Yeah. Private Mazarov and his Vladivostok cousin…" Laika whispered in an exaggerated conspiracy tone.

"Interesting!" Forte lifted his eyebrows in surprise.

"What's interesting?" Enzan asked as he walked back in.

"A buddy of his bathed in the Moskva River, ya see..."

"Ah. Wait! In October?" Enzan suddenly grasped it.

"We're though." Laika shrugged.

"Yeah, yeah… I know." Enzan rolled his eyes.

"And ya two… Beware of Hat Man." Forte added.

"Grrrr!" Even "Gospel Jr." sounded amused.

Forte ran out giggling while both Blues and Search Man looked surprised: Enzan rolled his eyes while Laika chuckled…

19:33 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Roger, sir. I'll be heading over there ASAP, sir…"

"So? What's up this time?"

"Don't be so impatient, X. Master has orders for me."

"More like he wants to discuss with you…"

"I wouldn't use "discuss", but, rather, "talk"…"

"Hmpf. Fine, fine…"

"You know the drill: train with H-M."

"Yeah. I like the thrill which comes with it…"

The teen labeled as "DS_002" was sitting on a chair inside of a small bedroom and putting on a black sneaker while his Link PET had been placed on its charger: Mr. X's voice rang out and seemed to be suspecting of something while the teen was shrugging.

"O. K. All's ready… I start up the radio, turn on the alarm and lock the door…" He muttered.

"Oi! Don't forget me." Mr. X reminded him with a hint of annoyance.

"Have I ever done that, X?" The teen asked with a shrug.

"No. But just in case." Mr. X insisted.

"I know."

The teen picked the Link PET and put on a blackish raincoat with a hood over his usual clothes before turning on a radio tuner on top of his desk, picking a set of keys, turning on an alarm system, come out of the apartment and lock the door: he pocketed the keys and hummed a tune as he walked down the stairs to ground level.

_Heh, heh, heh… One day… I'll overcome _that guy_… And Master will see that the confidence he deposited on me wasn't in vain… All for the sake of the "Syndicate"… Victory will be ours!_

19:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well! Hope that King DeDeDe doesn't go and steal the Star Rod from the Dream Fountain, Netto – kun, or else you'll be awake all night long, ya see…"

"Very original, really."

Saito and Netto had switched into their pajamas and were getting ready to go to sleep when Saito came up with a joke which Netto greeted with a totally unimpressed face while his brother was grinning.

"Who knows? Maybe Rice Man will bathe you in rice."

"I don't see the point." Netto drily replied.

"Use a magnifying glass." Saito suggested to him.

"When did ya become like that?" Netto questioned.

"Dunno. Maybe it's some kind of glitch on me." Saito replied.

"Then have it fixed by Papa." Netto rallied.

"He won't care 'cause it ain't dangerous to my health." Saito shrugged.

"Great. Now I have to endure this for the rest of my life?" He sighed.

"Hey. Ya were the one who began it, remember?" Saito told him.

"This has gotta be a prank by Omega." Netto grumbled.

"Could be, Holmes." Saito admitted.

"You know what? Beware of the cheat sheet under your pillow! Heh, heh, heh, heh!" Netto pointed the middle finger at his face.

Netto suddenly climbed into his bed and pulled the covers over him while chuckling: Saito blinked several times and looked disoriented.

"Huh? I guess the glitch is gone. Anyway… Good night!" He muttered.

Shrugging, he climbed into his bed and fell asleep as well...

**THE END**


End file.
